Top in ID: Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral, CDC report on omicron
Final data from a phase 2/3 trial showed that Pfizer’s investigational oral antiviral reduced the risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes by nearly 90%. It was the top story in infectious disease last week.
Another top story was about a CDC report that provided details on the first 43 confirmed infections caused by the omicron variant in the U.S. Jeanne M. Marrazzo, MD, MPH, director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, discussed what the report does and does not tell us about the emerging variant.
Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:
Final analysis confirms efficacy of Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral
A final analysis confirmed that Pfizer’s investigational oral antiviral, Paxlovid, reduced the risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes by almost 90% when given within days of symptom onset, as first reported last month, the company said. Read more.
What the CDC report says about the first omicron cases in the US
In a recent MMWR report, members of the CDC’s COVID-19 Response Team provided details on the first 43 confirmed infections in the United States caused by the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. Read more.
Omicron cases will ‘continue to grow in the coming weeks,’ CDC director warns
The COVID-19 omicron variant, which has been in the United States since at least mid-November, has now been confirmed in at least 36 states and more than 75 countries, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, said. Read more.
Blood test could identify severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections, researchers say
A blood test at the time of diagnosis can predict the severity of COVID-19-related illness and a patient’s risk for death, according to a small study published in PLoS One. Read more.
Flu activity increasing in US, but remains ‘very low’
Although influenza activity continues to increase in the United States, it remains low enough that the CDC does not consider the flu season to have started yet, a CDC expert said. Read more.