It's Friday, ma I'm Oscar Ramrrors from the Daily Dive podcast in Los Angeles, and this is reopening America rebound COVID. It's an issue that's been popping up for some getting sick, but it's also happening to people that were treated with the anti viral packs LEAD. Some are getting better and testing negative, only to rebound with symptoms and test positive after the illness has dissipated. This caused the CDC to change its guidelines and tell people with rebound symptoms to
isolate for another five days. Karen Weintroub, health reporter at USA Today, joins us for What to Know. Thanks for joining us, Karen, thanks for having me. Well, let's talk about some latest developments with the COVID treatment packs LEAD. This is a anti viral that is made by Fiser.
We're seeing some interesting things, some changing CDC guidelines. So I guess they're calling it packs levid rebound where people are taking the medication, maybe testing negative for COVID, then feeling kind of crummy a few days later, and testing positive all over again. And this is causing a little bit of changes to some of the CDC guidelines, saying that people should start isolating again for five days, I think if they do start testing positive. So, Karen, what
are we seeing with all of this? Right? What I actually didn't realize until I started reporting this is this post COVID rebound has been a thing all along. A small percentage of people have apparently recovered from COVID, even tested negative for a couple of days and then got symptoms again, and often tested positive. So doctor I spoke to said he's seen this and maybe two or three
or four percent of his patients all along since. So what's not clear is whether what we're seeing with this drug is specific to the drug, if it's more people on the drugs who are getting this, or if it's just the same thing that we're seeing normally. But because people are tracking themselves more carefully that we're becoming more
aware of it in connection with taxtlment. Yeah, it's pretty interesting because I mean, I went two and a half years not going right, without getting sick with anything or even getting COVID, and it recently caught up with me and they kind of keeped my butt, you know. But I was contemplating should I go to the doctor and maybe get some of course, of these anti vitals. I decided against it only because I wanted to tough it out. You know, I didn't think I needed it. It It wasn't
that bad. But then, yeah, you go back and you start seeing these things. But so tell me about what the CDC said, because they're changing some of the guidelines, saying you should isolate again if if you get that rebound right. One of the open questions has been when you have COVID, should you test before you go back
out into the world. So I recently had COVID. Also, I was testing positive on a rapid test for eleven days after I had COVID, and I was very careful in that time frame, even though after five I was allowed out in public. I was very vigilant about a mask and I really did try to avoid enclosed spaces for those eleven days. But in the past, the CDC has said five days of isolation is enough. Then wear your mask for another five and then you're good with
pastuate it. Because people are testing so much, they're seeing that they are going negative and then positive again. CDC says if that happens, you should start the isolation period all over again. And but honestly, we just don't know. There's not enough data to really say. There's one study that found that somebody had this rebound infected their family members, So it's possible to be contagious with this rebound in most cases, I don't think that. I've asked several people.
They said they've never heard of a hospitalization from a rebound. It seems to be sort of a lesser symptom, or your body is just getting rid of the last dregs of the virus. So it's just not clear how dangerous that period is. But in an abundance of caution, CDC is saying that you should isolate if you're positive, right, And that's one and that's one of the criticisms that comes out of it. Right, should we be changing public
policy because of this? I guess, as you mentioned, right, the study that was cited by the CDC was really just a report of a single case of a rebounding patient passing on the virus. Is that enough to apply that to everybody? I guess when you're being super cautious, yes, But again the criticism is should that be changing public policy? And again, I mean some of it is common sense versus public policy. You know, if you're testing positive, there's
a chance or contage us. If you can possibly stay home and avoid other people, it just seems like the sensible thing to do. Not everybody can afford the test or can afford to stay home. In those cases, people should be really vigilant about wearing a mask until they're
sure they're not contagious. Yeah, one of the things when the paxel it it came out, obviously, right everybody is saying it was a huge breakthrough, miraculous that it was so effective, right, cutting the risk of hospitalizations and death by everybody was way on board. But you know, now we have the stories about the rebound. As you said,
it's happening with people that aren't even taking paxilvid. But we're also I tell me, if you've heard of this, people are calling a pax leaved mouth, also complaining of a like a bitter, metallic taste. Somebody said it was like grapefruit mixed with soap that they're getting when when they're on the drug. I mean, those kinds of side effects are fairly typical with drugs, I think with certain drugs, so I'm not surprised by that. And everything you said
about tax Levid is still true. It's very effective at preventing hospitalizations. The real world data seems to be holding to be exactly repeating what they saw on the trials, So all of that is true. It's still a great drug if you're at high risk. I think some of the differences that were now so many more people are taking it now. You know, it's not just the people who are you know, compromised or over or six five who are taking it, but even people like you, who
are mostly healthy who are considering it. So I think that maybe some of the explanation is just that so many more people are taking it that we're seeing, you know, the variation that's typical with with any drug or any situation, right exactly, because the administration started those tests to treat programs right where you if you get to test any test positive, they might send you home immediately with that stuff.
So you're right, a lot of people are, a lot more people are taking it, and we're starting to see a little bit more of the real world effects of what's going on. And again it's great. I don't want to be in a hospital, you know, I mean, I think it's terrific if it's saving people from from being in the hospital. But the more marginal benefit you get,
the more of these side effects matter. You know, if you weren't gonna end up in a hospital anyway, then maybe having allows you taste in your mouth and having to isolate for an extra few days the bigger burden. And those are just things that we're learning as as we see this drug in app action. All right, well, we'll keep an eye out for how things develop with packs LVID. I know it's helping a lot of people
still in the long run, as you mentioned. Karen Weintraub, health reporter at USA Today, thank you very much for joining us. Thank you so much. I'm Oscar Ramirez and this has been reopening America. Don't forget the effort. Today's big news stories. You can check me out in the Daily Dive podcast every mondy through Friday, so follow us on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcast.