Category: Treatment

Nirmatrelvir is an antiviral medication developed by Pfizer for treating mild to moderate cases of Covid-19. It is sold under the brand name Paxlovid.

The medication, which is taken orally, contains two medications: “Nirmatrelvir helps stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus from duplicating itself within the body. And ritonavir – a drug originally approved by the FDA for the treatment of HIV infection in adults and children – slows down the body’s breaking down of nirmatrelvir, allowing it to stay in the body longer” (Pelc).

In December 2021 the Food And Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Paxlovid had been granted Emergency Use Authorization. Eligibility requirements are as follows: “For the treatment of mild-to moderate COVID-19 in adults and children [12 years of age and older weighing at least 88 pounds (40 kg)] with a positive test for the virus that causes COVID-19, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death, under an EUA.” For more information on the medication, including possible side-effects, visit here.

Some patients reported a nasty metallic taste in their mouth after taking the medication that can last for a while. This condition is called dysgeusia. Despite this unpleasant side effect, medical experts strongly suggest continuing with the full course of the treatment (Pelc).

Social Media Trends as of September 11, 2022

Facebook #paxlovid: 7,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #paxlovid: 4,384 posts
TikTok #paxlovid: 16.7 million views
YouTube #paxlovid: 604 videos and 350 channels

Google Trends: paxlovid first appeared during the week of October 31, 2021 when news of the antiviral medication being used as a possible cure for the treatment of Covid-19 started to appear. The Omicron variant was also at its peak around this time. The popularity of Paxlovid as a search term reached its peak during the week of July 17, 2022 when the medication became more widely available.

Sources:

“EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION (EUA) OF PAXLOVID.” Food and Drug Administration. August 26, 2022. URL: https://www.fda.gov/media/155051/download.

Pelc, Corrie. “Paxlovid mouth: What is it and how to get rid of it.” Medical News Today. August 23, 2022. URL: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/paxlovid-mouth-what-is-it-and-how-to-get-rid-of-it.

Remdesivir is an antiviral medication developed by Gilead Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company. It has been used to treat those aged 12 and older who were hospitalized with Covid-19. Its initial use was to “fight the Ebola virus, that prevents an RNA-based virus from reproducing within an infected cell by blocking it from replicating its viral genome” (Dictionary.com)

Clinical trials using Remdesivir were conducted as early as April 2020. The New England Journal of Medicine published a report which identified the antiviral drug as a “promising therapeutic candidate for Covid-19 because of its ability to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. In addition, in nonhuman primate studies, Remdesivir initiated 12 hours after inoculation with MERS-CoV reduced lung virus levels and lung damage.”

In October 2020, Remdesivir was given approval for medical use in the United States to treat patients who were hospitalized “with mild-to-severe COVID‑19…[and] in January 2022, a study indicated that non-hospitalized people who were at high risk for COVID-19 progression had an 87% lower risk of hospitalization or death after a 3-day course of intravenous Remdesivir” (Wikipedia).

The pandemic has created new words in the English language some of which have been added to the major dictionaries. On June 16, 2021 an article was published on the News18.com website that stated “Remdesivir has been added to the [Oxford] dictionary’s list of words. Remdesivir became a popular name during the harrowing second wave that hit India in April. The anti-viral injection that sent people scouting for it, has now recorded itself as a dictionary word in June 2021 following its extensive demand” (Buzz Staff).

Social Media Trends as of August 3, 2022

Facebook #remdesivir: 46,000 people are posting about this
Instagram #remdesivir: 28,875 posts
YouTube #remdesivir: 5,200 videos and 2,200 channels

Google Trends: remdesivir appeared as a blip during the week of February 2, 2020 and reached its peak in during the week of April 26, 2020 which coincided with some clinical trials using Remdesivir in the United States.

Sources:

BuzzStaff. “‘Remdesivir’ Added to Oxford Dictionary after Surge in Use During India’s Second Covid-19 Wave.” News18.com. June 16, 2021. URL: https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/remdesivir-added-to-oxford-dictionary-after-surge-in-use-during-indias-second-covid-19-wave-3854156.html.

“Remdesivir.” Dictionary.com. URL: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/remdesivir.

“Remdesivir.” Wikipedia.com. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remdesivir.

“Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19.” The New England Journal of Medicine. May 22, 2020. URL: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2007764.