- The COVID-19 antiviral ensitrelvir (Xocova), was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The oral drug was approved as PEP, or post-exposure prophylaxis, meaning it is taken within 72 hours after coming in contact with someone who has COVID-19. A recent clinical trial found the drug reduces symptomatic COVID-19 after an exposure by 67%. The treatment includes a five day course of the drug. “With XOCOVA, people who are exposed to COVID-19 can act early to help protect themselves,” Shionogi Inc.’s CEO said in a press release. We’ll be reporting more on the drug this week. Reach out to editors@thesicktimes.org with your questions and comments.
- A new study in CELL reinforced that some people with Long COVID have autoantibodies that attack the body. Researchers discovered antibodies in some people with the disease who had neurological symptoms. They transferred these antibodies into mice, who later developed Long COVID-like symptoms, including fatigue, balance issues, pain, and small fiber nerve damage. Other studies, including one in the Netherlands and one in Belgium, have also transferred Long COVID antibodies to mice with similar results. These findings indicate Long COVID overlaps with autoimmune diseases, co-author Akiko Iwasaki said in a Yale press release, though she noted there could be “other causes.”
- About one in six people with a documented COVID-19 case developed Long COVID, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open. The researchers, from Massachusetts General Hospital, studied electronic health records from over 450,000 people with COVID-19 cases across 58 hospitals between spring 2020 and late 2024; they used an algorithm to identify those who had new chronic symptoms after infection. This algorithm identified about 75,000 people with suspected Long COVID, double the prevalence rate than prior studies using the specific Long COVID diagnostic code. The researchers also found that Long COVID prevalence increased over time, and called it an “accumulating health care crisis demanding urgent investment.”
- Scientists at New York’s Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illnesses (CoRE) are conducting a remote blood draw for people who were in the U.S. clinical trial on efgartigimod (Vyvgart) for Long COVID. CoRE is taking blood draws of people who received the active treatment in the trial, saw improvements, and are not on any immunotherapies. Findings from the draws may support a future clinical trial of the drug for Long COVID. Some people in the trial reported significant improvements and demanded more research into the biologic after the trial was canceled. Participants will receive an at-home lab kit. Contact: Mackenzie at coreresearch@mountsinai.org.
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