Immunocompromised man with rare genetic disorder, who has been testing positive on COVID-19 for more than 7 months, is probably the first person in the world to be cured of the virus by getting vaccinated

The 37-year-old man, who has a rare genetic immunodeficiency, tested positive for COVID-19 for a period of 7 and a half months after he caught the Coronavirus. Health officials claim that he reportedly became the first person in the world to be cured of the virus by getting vaccinated. Health officials said that the 37-year-old patient wasn’t able to get vaccinated when immunocompromised people were invited to get the vaccine because he was still testing positive for the virus.   

The 37-year-old optician, Ian Lester, got infected in December 2020, before COVID-19 vaccines were widely available. He reportedly suffers from a rare genetic immunodeficiency-causing condition called Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome. It’s a rare genetic disorder which prevents him from being able to form blood clots. According to the health officials, people who suffer from this disorder are more susceptible to infections, and can bruise and bleed easier. 

During his illness, the 37-year-old man suffered with chest tightness, headaches and extreme fatigue. Health officials said that Lester wasn’t able to get vaccinated when immunocompromised people were invited to get the vaccine because he was still testing positive for the virus.   

But, health officials decided to give him two doses of the Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, one month apart, in the hope it would work as a therapeutic and help his immune system finally clear the virus. 

According to Daily Mail, results showed levels of the virus plunged 64-fold within a fortnight of the first vaccine, showing how quickly the vaccine had an effect. The 37-year-old optician was declared COVID-free in August, 72 days after getting his first vaccine.

Lester’s case was published in a medical journal and is thought to be the first time a vaccine has been used as a treatment for COVID. According to the health officials, the current COVID-19 vaccines are used to prevent people who are not infected from becoming seriously unwell if they catch it. 

One of the health professionals that treated Lester, Dr Mark Ponsford, described seeing the eventual negative test as a pretty astonishing moment. Dr. Ponsford also added that the COVID vaccine was remarkably well-tolerated by the patient who previously had a limited response to conventional vaccines.

Health officials said that these results reportedly suggest that Covid vaccines can kick-start the immune system of immunosuppressed people with persistent infections, which can leave them battling illnesses for decades in rare cases. 

The 37-year-old optician said that he tested positive in December 2020. His only symptoms were a loss of taste and smell. Unfortunately, his PCR tests continued to come back positive. And his symptoms, extreme fatigue, sleeping problems, headaches and chest tightness, continued to worsen the longer he had the virus. 

Ian Lester told Daily Mail: “Although most people are able to stop isolating after 10 days of contracting the virus, I was an exception to the rule. Each test came back positive, time and time again. Months passed, which felt like a lifetime when you’re not able to go anywhere or see friends or family. 

Each positive Covid swab (which were taken every 10-14 days) left me feeling more deflated and anxious. I began to feel like I was a prisoner in my own home and the days blurred into months.  By June 2021, when social gatherings were being allowed again, I was feeling very frustrated and started to doubt I would ever become negative.”

The 37-year-old man was not eligible for anti-viral drugs because he wasn’t hospitalized. After doctors told him that he should  use the Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to help fight the virus, the 37-year-old man was more than willing to try, Newsweek reports.

He reportedly received 2 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, which very quickly’ triggered a strong antibody response that was much stronger than that triggered naturally.

A negative test finally confirmed the Coronavirus had been eradicated, 218 days after it was first detected.

Health officials said that they still need to test the vaccine as a treatment in more patients with prolonged infections before concluding that it can work. 

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