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A new mouse model shows that treating pregnant mice with the antiviral drug Paxlovid protects both the mother and the fetus from COVID-19. The study supports the use of Paxlovid in pregnant patients.
A new mouse model of infection with the COVID-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus during pregnancy tracks closely the disease course doctors have observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant patients, and suggests that treatment with the antiviral Paxlovid provides protection for both mother and child. The new model is described in a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The researchers found that pregnant mice infected with SARS-CoV-2 later in gestation tended to have worse COVID-19-like disease, as seen in pregnant patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections. Treating the mice with the active ingredients in Paxlovid-;an oral antiviral drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use against SARS-CoV-2 infection, but not widely used in pregnant patients with COVID-19-;reduced their viral loads and disease signs in mothers, and prevented growth and developmental deficits in their offspring.
The study appears online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Our findings are consistent with the overall public health message that Paxlovid is safe and effective, and that if you’re pregnant it can protect you and your baby.”
Sabra Klein, PhD, study co-senior author, professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Bloomberg School
The COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder that pregnant people are an at-risk population for more severe viral diseases-;so much so that they are often among priority groups that receive immediate access to new antiviral treatments when they are authorized or approved by the FDA. During the pandemic, doctors observed that SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy-;especially