My ex-boss's infection occurred before vaccines were available. I'm not sure about the other chap.
This article suggests that #vaccination reduces #LongCovid risk enough to be worthwhile, but not enough to let people "vax and relax":
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/vaccination-may-protect-against-long-covid
(For the record, I'm up-to-date with Covid vaccines, and I intend to stay that way.)