| When Anthony Fauci and President Joe Biden got COVID-19, they both tested positive again only days after receiving negative results. Their cases reflect a “rebound” phenomenon that is now on the rise in the U.S.
There’s no definitive link between rebound and usage of Paxlovid, the antiviral drug that lessens the effects of COVID-19 if used near the onset of infection. Pfizer has publicized trials of the drug’s effectiveness while the Delta variant was dominant, when only 2 percent of patients reported rebound cases. With newer and more infectious variants, however, rebound cases are likely woefully undercounted, health officials say. At the same time, the exact causes of rebound remain murky.
“It’s hard to ignore the anecdotal evidence of rebounding peppered throughout social and mass media,” epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina tells Nat Geo, as we examine rebound cases and antivirals.
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