A Welsh man who spent over half a year battling Covid at home is thought to have become the first person in the world to be cured of the virus by getting vaccinated.
Ian Lester, from Pontypridd, who has a rare genetic immunodeficiency, got infected in December 2020, before jabs were widely available.
During his seven-and-a-half-month illness, the optician suffered with chest tightness, headaches and extreme fatigue.
He wasn’t able to get vaccinated when immunocompromised people were invited to get the jab because he was still testing positive for the virus.
But scientists at Cardiff University decided to give him two doses of Pfizer’s jab, one month apart, in the hope it would work as a therapeutic and help his immune system finally clear the virus.
Results showed levels of the virus plunged 64-fold within a fortnight of the first jab, showing how quickly the vaccine had an effect.
Mr Lester was eventually declared Covid-free in August, 72 days after getting his first vaccine.
The case, detailed in a medical journal, is thought to be the first time a vaccine has been used as a treatment for Covid. The current jabs are used to prevent people who are not infected from becoming seriously unwell if they catch it.
Dr Mark Ponsford, one of the doctors who treated Mr Lester, described seeing the eventual negative test as ‘a pretty astonishing moment’.
He said the vaccine was ‘remarkably’ well-tolerated by Mr Lester who previously had a limited response to conventional jabs.