First time mRNA vaccine used to treat Covid-19

It took a long time and effort for a person with genetic immunodeficiency to overcome Covid-19. Ian Lester, who tested positive for more than seven months, was finally able to test negative after administering two doses of mRNA vaccine.

It took 218 days to recover from Covid-19

In an incident in the United Kingdom, 37-year-old Ian Lester was diagnosed with Covid-19 because he had Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, which causes abnormal immune deficiency. When he got a disease, it took 218 days to get over the disease.

Experiencing symptoms such as chest tightness, insomnia, headache, lack of concentration and extreme fatigue, Lester had to self-isolate for most of this time. Even 5 months after infection, SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were not observed in the tests, so Professor Stephen Jolles from Cardiff University School of Medicine decided to try an experimental treatment. Jolles: “We wondered if therapeutic vaccination could help finally clear the virus by generating a strong immune response in the body.” made statements.

Scientists administered two doses of BioNTech Pfizer vaccine to Lester, one month apart. A significant reduction in the volume of viral material was observed in tests performed 14 days after the first dose of vaccination. About 6 weeks after the second dose, Lester was able to test negative exactly 218 days after the first positive test.

Cardiff University Medicine Dr Mark Ponsford from the Faculty of Medicine said: “To our knowledge, this is the first time that mRNA vaccine has been used to clear persistent Covid-19 infection. Importantly, the vaccine was well tolerated by the patient and successfully induced a strong antibody and T-cell response. Ian’s This was remarkable given that its response to conventional vaccines has been extremely limited in the past.” said.

The scientists emphasize that this is the first study to show that mRNA vaccines can be used for therapeutic purposes alongside traditional prophylactic approaches.