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How a vaccine helped treat my seven-month bout of Covid

Instead of giving a vaccine to prevent an infection, medics decided to use the Pfizer vaccine to treat one.

Medical teams in Wales, UK, have pioneered the use of a vaccine to treat a man who, after seven months of testing positive for Covid, still hadn't managed to kick the infection. Ian Lester was born with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, which makes it harder for him to fight off infections. Three months into the infection, his symptoms became more serious, and the analysis showed Ian had a long-term infection.

James Gallagher, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Health correspondent, explains how the medical teams believed his immune system was not robust enough to clear the infection, and decided to try something new. Instead of giving a vaccine to prevent an infection, they decided to use the Pfizer vaccine to treat one. Finally, after two vaccines, Ian started to test negative again.

"The vaccine really made a huge difference, in antibodies and T-cells, and squeezed every last drop out of what his immune system could do." Prof Stephen Jolles, clinical lead at the Immunodeficiency Centre

Photo: Ian Lester, who is now testing negative again after a seven-month bout of Covid Credit: ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

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3 minutes