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Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

fiercebiotech.com

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Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#631

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When hospitalization rates are down. In many metro areas the ICU are still full of un-vaccinated COVID patients, which means people with normal emergencies can't get a bed. Thus, COVID precautions are necessary to reduce the rate of infection to levels that do not overwhelm the healthcare system. And all those areas that have "returned to normal" are sending their COVID patients to regions that are still masking beca…

Here's "hospital stress" data for the US, showing where COVID patients are overwhelming the healthcare systems: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/09/9443799...

That website is very much designed to be scary. They say that hospital admins think 30% and above of Covid patients mean "extreme", but they use 20% and above for the "extreme" red. Then below that they use % "extreme", but without close reading, you think they are talking about hospital capacity. Over the whole map it's hard to find any county with over 20% of their beds being Covid patients. The big thing is what did all of this look like before Covid? Most of the problems with capacity are due to staffing, which seems to be the real bottle-neck here.

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#632

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I am talking about ‘scientists’ telling others that Covid-19 is magically limited to a 1.5m or 6 feet circle (depending in which country you live). Or that they have to be really careful outside, and that it’s more safe to not go for a walk and fatten up in front of the TV. Or that ‘covid 0’ is a valid policy and that if it doesn’t work it is the fault of this week’s scapegoat. And then censoring anyone who would…

Nobody, and I mean nobody , genuinely believes that COVID-19 can't be spread when social distancing measures are perfectly observed. The 1.5m/6ft distance was chosen based on both epidemiological models that show statistical decreases in contagion and the political reality that people (understandably) get very upset the more you ask them to stay away from other people. The rest of your post doesn't reflect any govern…

The US is not the world and really, a lot of people have made a lot of truly strange statements.

I have seen plenty of scientists with all kinds of statements, the worst being ‘oh if you got infected, it’s your own fault because you clearly didn’t stay 1.5 m from other people. Because otherwise it is impossible to get infected!’

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#633
> There were six hospitalizations and no deaths among the 607 patients who received Paxlovid within five days of symptom onset, compared to 41 hospitalizations and 10 deaths in the placebo cohort.

I know it shouldn't be shocking but it just hit me that being in the control group here is very close to getting a death sentence. I couldn't find it in the article OP shared or the press release, but did the control group get any other treatment?

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#634

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incorrect, mRNA COVID vaccination is about reducing symptoms in infected patients. It does absolutely nothing to slow down or stop the spread of COVID.

This is one of the most persistent pieces of misinformation I've seen, especially in the face of clear data. The reduction in transmission rate for the vaccinated is 89%. Even for someone with a breakthrough infection of the more contagious Delta variant being vaccinated means a 63% reduction. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2294250-how-much-less-l...

You are correct, it seems, if this trial is done correctly. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.10.14.21264959v...

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#635

> There were six hospitalizations and no deaths among the 607 patients who received Paxlovid within five days of symptom onset, compared to 41 hospitalizations and 10 deaths in the placebo cohort. I know it shouldn't be shocking but it just hit me that being in the control group here is very close to getting a death sentence. I couldn't find it in the article OP shared or the press release, but did the control group…

Usually with these kinds of experiments, you would get all the other normal treatments, because it would be unethical otherwise.

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#636

> There were six hospitalizations and no deaths among the 607 patients who received Paxlovid within five days of symptom onset, compared to 41 hospitalizations and 10 deaths in the placebo cohort. I know it shouldn't be shocking but it just hit me that being in the control group here is very close to getting a death sentence. I couldn't find it in the article OP shared or the press release, but did the control group…

10 deaths in 600 is not quite a death sentence, in my opinion. And yes, placebo group always gets current standard treatment, it would be rather wrong to do otherwise.

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#639

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When hospitalization rates are down. In many metro areas the ICU are still full of un-vaccinated COVID patients, which means people with normal emergencies can't get a bed. Thus, COVID precautions are necessary to reduce the rate of infection to levels that do not overwhelm the healthcare system. And all those areas that have "returned to normal" are sending their COVID patients to regions that are still masking beca…

In the US the nation-wide ICU vacancy is down to pre-pandemic levels. There may be anecdotes of individual hospitals that have a lot of COVID patients in ICU, but it's simply not true that this is a wide spread problem.

It's funny that people read the same data with such different interpretations. This is why I feel like the insistence of "just look at the data" rarely leads to a clear decision, and anyone working at a company that has dealt with giving data to people to make decisions will know this intimately. People use data to make their point, and if the data doesn't agree, then they slice it or adjust it or reason their way out of using it, so they can make the decision they want. I think Scott Adams calls it "watching the same screen, but seeing two different movies"

Re: Pfizer's oral Covid-19 antiviral cuts hospitalization, death by 85%

#640

Does anyone have a sense as to when US society will completely eliminate COVID measures? Is it just me or is there no clear exit criteria anymore? This will go on forever without exit criteria.

My guess is that the end game is when the vaccine mandate goes into effect in January. Most people will get vaccinated and those that don't wont and nothing will make them. At that point in time all that could be done has been done and life goes on. Optimally enough will be to grant some form of herd immunity or reducing the spread. I'll just get a booster when I can and go about my life. I have for all intents and purpose resumed normal life. I wear a mask in a grocery store most of the time just to give some respect to the cashiers who are wearing them but that's essentially it.
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