A new study has found that most COVID-19 treatments approved in the United States are safe and not linked to serious side effects.
Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) reviewed all available scientific evidence and found that most people taking medications for COVID-19 don’t need to worry about serious health problems caused by the treatments.
The study focused on treatments such as Paxlovid, a pill used to reduce the severity of COVID-19, and other drugs like monoclonal antibodies, which help the immune system fight the virus.
These treatments have been used over the past four years during the pandemic.
The researchers found that oral medications like Paxlovid did not lead to serious side effects.
Intravenous (IV) treatments, such as Evusheld and other monoclonal antibodies that were once used in hospitals, also showed no strong links to serious health risks, although many of them are no longer in use due to their reduced effectiveness against new COVID-19 variants.
One drug called Actemra (also known as tocilizumab), which is given by IV and works differently, was found to cause low white blood cell counts and infections in some cases.
Another treatment called convalescent plasma, which involves giving patients blood from people who recovered from COVID-19, was linked to a higher risk of internal bleeding, infection, and blood clots.
These risks, however, are already listed on the treatment labels.
The study offers reassurance, especially for older adults or people with health conditions like obesity, diabetes, or heart problems, who are more likely to be prescribed medication for COVID-19.
According to the lead researcher, Professor Susanne Hempel, patients taking oral medications like Paxlovid at home don’t need to fear serious side effects. “The main message is, if your doctor puts you on Paxlovid, you don’t have to worry,” she said.
The study looked at 54 different reports, including clinical trials and observational research. It only included studies that compared treatments to standard care or no treatment at all, so that any effects caused by the virus itself wouldn’t be confused with treatment-related problems.
This research was done to help create a government compensation program for rare but serious treatment-related injuries. Co-author Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, an expert in infectious disease, said it’s important for public programs to be based on solid science. “Now we know with more certainty that these treatments are safe,” he said.
The study was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases and used data not just from published studies, but also from FDA records and the clinicaltrials.gov database.
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