Originally Posted by
Lindsy
My friend did not want to be forced to stay in a particular place for a particular time, and I share that desire -- but I also think I might like to control my symptoms with Paxlovid if I were infected. My question: if you do obtain Paxlovid, and therefore make yourself known to the authorities, what -- especially given the new WHO designation -- are the current policies and regulations around quarantine?
You need to talk to your primary care doctor about this. Paxlovid does not shorten infectivity or necessarily ease the infection, but if you are clinically highly vulnerable to COVID-19 it may stop you dying and reduce the risk of Long Covid. The side effects, notably diarrhoea and vomiting, are worse, in most cases, to the immediate symptoms of COVID-19 in its current form. It's a life-saver, but taking the medicine is non trivial and could impact travel plans just as much as the virus itself. You have to take the medicine for 5, 6 or 7 days, depending on your vulnerabilities,whereas most current cases of COVID-19 have 2 rough days and that's it. There isn't much difference here with influenza, other than COVID remains more lethal for some and is remains highly infectious.
To answer the question as posed, you are not required to quarantine, but at least in the UK you would almost certainly be under active clinical management, often in a hospital or hospice setting. I would say the median age for patients is early 90s.