Evaluating the Effectiveness of Antivirals for COVID-19 in the Post-vaccine, Omicron Era: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Abstract
Introduction: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of oral antivirals for COVID-19 conducted early in the pandemic had favorable results in unvaccinated populations. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and molnupiravir against hospitalization and death in vaccinated populations in the post-Omicron era. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library for RCTs conducted from January 2020, and observational studies in adults who were vaccinated conducted from January 2022. We performed a random effects meta-analysis using the inverse variance method with subgroup analysis by age (
Fields of Study & Subjects
SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
Respiratory viral infections research
COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Open Forum Infectious Diseases
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- ofag339–ofag339
- Publication date
- 31 May 2026
- Language
- EN