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Patients who are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 might benefit from outpatient treatment. Severe outcomes of COVID-19 include hospitalization, intensive care, ventilatory support, or death.
Risk Factors
Age is the most important risk factor for severe outcomes of COVID-19, with risk increasing substantially as age increases above 65 years.
Risk factors for severe COVID-19, such as illness requiring hospitalization, include:
- Age over 50 years, with risk increasing substantially as age increases above 65 years
- Being unvaccinated or not being up to date on COVID-19 vaccines
- Specific medical conditions, with risk increasing substantially with presence of multiple medical conditions
- Immunocompromising conditions or use of immunosuppressive medications, such as chemotherapy
Clinical judgment is needed to accurately assess a person’s risk on a case-by-case basis and determine whether treatment is indicated.
| Treatment* | Who | Route | Duration | Time from Illness Onset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir (Paxlovid) | Aged >12 years and at least 40kg in weight | Oral | 5 days | ≤5 days |
| Remdesivir (Veklury) | Aged >28 days and at least 3kg in weight | Intravenous | 3 days | ≤7 days |
| Molnupiravir (Lagrevio) | Adults | Oral | 5 days | ≤5 days |
*Click on link for full prescribing details
For more comprehensive treatment guidance, see IDSA's Guidelines on Treatment and Management of Patients with COVID-19