Health officials in Liverpool have shared harrowing footage of medical staff scrambling to save the lives of young unvaccinated Covid patients in ICU.
The video shows nurses and doctors at Royal Liverpool University Hospital working around the clock to ensure that patients survive the worst of the symptoms of the virus.
Around four in five people admitted to hospitals for Covid in the English city are said to be unvaccinated.
Patients as young as 30 are among those currently fighting for their lives in intensive care.
The clip was shared by Liverpool City Council in a bid to boost vaccine rates in and around the city.
It says that staff in Liverpool’s hospitals are “physically and mentally exhausted” as the strain from the pandemic approaches its second year.
And there are fears that the situation could worsen in the coming weeks, as the new Omicron variant continues to sweep across the UK.
“Someone you know and love could be lying in these beds in the coming weeks if we don’t do everything we can to keep people safe”, a spokesperson for the council can be heard saying on the video.
“These people, who had no underlying health issues should be enjoying the festive season, but instead, they are fighting to breathe and survive.”
Grazy Philip, who is a Senior Sister in ICU at Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said she has never seen anything like this in her life.
“At the moment, four out of five people are unvaccinated here, and that’s quite sad to see”, she said.
“You’ve got a weapon to battle against Covid, which is the vaccine - why are people not using it.”
She then pauses for a moment in tears as she recalls how Covid affected her family personally earlier in the pandemic.
“My husband was really poorly, he thought he was going to die”, she added.
“I’ve seen patients coming in, they’re fit, well, very young, in their 30s, we have 40s, 50s getting worse, they’re dying. I’m sure if they had the vaccine, then they wouldn’t have ended up like this.
“Other countries are begging for vaccines. It is there, available, and you just go and get it and that is the only way that we can fight against Covid.”
Scotland has recently ramped up its booster vaccine programme in an effort to stop the spread of the Omicron variant.
Omicron is said to account for more than 60 per cent of cases in Scotland, according to the Scottish Government.
Experts are still trying to learn more about the variant, which contains a large number of mutations.
Early studies have shown that booster doses of the coronavirus vaccine can increase an individual’s antibodies to fight off the virus by a significant number.
Scientists are also investigating the potential severity of Omicron infection.
The latest figures from Public Health Scotland shows that more than 60 per cent of Scots have received their booster jab so far.
