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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, 麻豆社 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: 麻豆社

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