Unvaccinated people in hospital with Covid are begging to have the jab when it is already too late, according to a leading doctor.
Dr Tom Lawton told how he is faced with patients who are desperate to have the vaccine when they have already caught coronavirus.
The intensive care consultant, of Bradford Royal Infirmary, West Yorkshire, is urging people to get vaccinated or boosted ahead of a "tidal wave in the form of Omicron."
He told Yorkshire Live : "We’ve had an awful lot of unvaccinated people coming through ICU with very severe Covid-19.
"One of the hardest things for me to deal with has been people begging to be vaccinated at the point, when it is unfortunately too late, when they have already contracted Covid-19."
Dr Lawton, who last week was presented with his MBE by Prince William in recognition of his services during the coronavirus crisis, explained why Omicron is particularly dangerous.
The UK reported more than 12,000 further confirmed cases of the variant on Sunday when deaths rose to 12.
He added: "Omicron is particularly dangerous because of the fact that it can transmit through people who have already had Covid or been vaccinated with two doses.
"Now those people hopefully won’t be so sick with Covid, but they can transmit it to other people who haven’t had that protection.
"That means that if you haven’t been vaccinated, you will come into contact with Omicron and you could well get very, very unwell with it."
The health expert also advised people who are concerned about the vaccine to check reliable sources such as the NHS website.
"The vaccine has been studied and shown to be the best and most effective way of preventing severe Covid-19, so please come forward to have that vaccine," he continued.
"There is a tidal wave in the form of Omicron coming towards us and you want to have as much protection as possible before it hits."
A further 82,886 people tested positive for Covid in the last 24 hours on Sunday as the Prime Minister prepares to decide if he will impose more measures before Christmas.
Boris Johnson has so far avoided introducing more curbs before December 25 while Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is refusing to rule them out.
Sunday marked the fourth biggest single-day rise in infections of the pandemic, with the record set on December 17 when 93,045 cases were recorded.
The latest government figures also revealed 45 new Covid deaths with the number of weekly fatalities actually falling by 6.5%.
However, scientists have warned that deaths are expected to soar in the coming weeks.
Mr Johnson is faced with three options to slow the spread of Omicron including advice to limit household mixing, compulsory limits on mixing or another full lockdown.
.jpg?w=600)
