For the 5 days you're taking Paxlovid, give or take, you're not contagious (you'll test negative on a rapid test). So it's the same total number of days you're contagious, just with a small break in the middle.
along with the other side effects
The side effects of COVID are far worse, I don't know why anyone would ever pick COVID over Paxlovid. Unless I'm misunderstanding you, anti-vaxxers also make argument you're making, but instead about why everyone should skip the vaccine.
Paxlovid is not on the same level as vaccines; its benefit-cost ratio is not worth it 100% of the cases. It is an effective medicine that can significantly reduce risk of hospitalization, but a blanket recommendation is not good advice.
Don't get me wrong, I have gotten 4 shots, mask up and everything. By the time I got my hands on paxlovid my symptoms just weren't that bad, so I was afraid the risk of reinfection or accidentally infecting someone else would outweigh reducing my moderate symptoms.
I'm genuinely asking in good faith, and probably being a little intellectually lazy by not researching the issue on my own before asking. But I'm just curious if even in that milder case, or in people without exacerbating factors, paxlovid is still considered to be the gold standard of treatment
For the 5 days you're taking Paxlovid, give or take, you're not contagious (you'll test negative on a rapid test). So it's the same total number of days you're contagious, just with a small break in the middle.
The side effects of COVID are far worse, I don't know why anyone would ever pick COVID over Paxlovid. Unless I'm misunderstanding you, anti-vaxxers also make argument you're making, but instead about why everyone should skip the vaccine.
Paxlovid is not on the same level as vaccines; its benefit-cost ratio is not worth it 100% of the cases. It is an effective medicine that can significantly reduce risk of hospitalization, but a blanket recommendation is not good advice.
Don't get me wrong, I have gotten 4 shots, mask up and everything. By the time I got my hands on paxlovid my symptoms just weren't that bad, so I was afraid the risk of reinfection or accidentally infecting someone else would outweigh reducing my moderate symptoms.
I'm genuinely asking in good faith, and probably being a little intellectually lazy by not researching the issue on my own before asking. But I'm just curious if even in that milder case, or in people without exacerbating factors, paxlovid is still considered to be the gold standard of treatment