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My mom is 86 and seven days ago tested positive for Covid. She has had mild congestion, running nose and slight cough. She started Paxlovid on day five. My question is even though she has had no shortness of breath can she suddenly out of nowhere develop that now? Or can her symptoms after 7 gays suddenly turn much worse? I am her caregiver and she also has Alzheimer's so she doesn't understand what's happening and can't explain her symptoms.
It is very possible that your mother may experience a return of symptoms shortly after completing the 5-day course of Paxlovid—this is a phenomenon called “rebound”. Usually these symptoms are mild and thus far we have not seen that the illness associated with Paxlovid rebound is severe enough to send people to the hospital. Nonetheless, I always very closely monitor older adults with Covid infections, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease or other cognitive diseases.
