COVID Postexposure Prophylaxis Expands Prevention Toolkit: Noah Greenspan, DPT, PT

A new variant of SARS-CoV-2 is rising amongst patients infected by the virus, but just recently, the FDA approved the first and only oral postexposure prophylactic (PEP) treatment for COVID-19. A PEP treatment in this landscape is a considerable advancement as COVID-19 vaccine rates wane. The drug ensitrelvir proved to be safe and efficacious in adults and children over the age of 12 by reducing their risk of symptomatic COVID-19 by 67% following exposure to an infected individual when compared with a placebo. ¹

Amid the approval, Noah Greenspan, DPT, PT, owner and founder of Pulmonary Wellness ComplexPT, further explained the importance of a PEP treatment for COVID-19.

“The more frequently you're exposed to something, the greater your chances of contracting it are,” he said in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care^®. "If you work in a hospital, if you work someplace where the contraction of an illness or the treatment of people with illnesses is common, that's a greater case to be made for taking something prophylactically.”

He also emphasized that those who are at an increased risk of severe disease, like those who are immunocompromised, would have a greater incentive to request a PEP treatment, especially for COVID-19.

“[But] again, every one of these things is an individual decision to be made with your doctor based on…age, medical conditions involved, level of immunity, or other medications that you're on,” he said. “And then again, the frequency of the exposure, the intensity of the exposure, [and] the type of exposure.”

As the first and only PEP treatment for long COVID, it paves the way for more to come and provides patients with more options to prevent severe disease if infected with SARS-CoV-2. There are also 2 pre-exposure prophylaxis treatments approved for emergency use authorization targeting a specific patient demographic.²

References

1. McCrear S. FDA approves oral ensitrelvir for COVID-19 postexposure prophylaxis. June 1, 2026. Accessed June 5, 2026. https://www.ajmc.com/view/fda-approves-oral-ensitrelvir-for-covid-19-post-exposure-prophylaxis

2. McCrear S. Pemivibart shows safety, prevents COVID-19 in CLL subset in phase 3 CANOPY trial. April 8, 2026. Accessed June 5, 2026. https://www.ajmc.com/view/pemivibart-shows-safety-prevents-covid-19-in-cll-subset-in-phase-3-canopy-trial