Get your booster, urges nurse who delayed jab due to hesitancy
Occupational health nurse Toyin Oladotun administered COVID-19 vaccine for two months before getting her first jab due to family and friends' concerns about it
A nurse who delayed getting her COVID-19 vaccine while also working in one of the first vaccination clinics in the world is urging others to get their jab.
It comes as the UK marks a year since the first Pfizer jab was administered, marking the start of the NHS vaccination programme.
Occupational health nurse Toyin Oladotun, known to her colleagues as Lady T, delayed getting her jab by two months due to family concerns about the vaccine.
Speak to a health professional about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy concerns
‘We were so excited to start administering the vaccine to protect as many people as possible against the virus, but it was difficult for me as I had friends and family warning me, as a black woman, not to get it as they were concerned about what might happen,’ she said.
‘I spent almost two months vaccinating other people and processing all the evidence before I got my first dose.’
Ms Oladotun works at St George’s Hospital in London, and helped to launch one of the first vaccination clinics in the world on 8 December last year.
She understands why some people are hesitant about the vaccine, but urged them to speak to medical professionals about their concerns.
‘I thought I can’t tell others all the benefits and not take my own advice, plus I was vaccinating people of all different ages, ethnicities and backgrounds – they all received the same advice, had their vaccines and were perfectly fine afterwards,' she added.
Drive to recruit 10,000 vaccinators for booster jab to combat Omicron variant
‘We’re all here to help and there is no judgment. It’s never too late to be vaccinated to give you the best protection this winter.’
NHS England has today launched a drive to recruit 10,000 vaccination workers after ramping up the COVID-19 booster programme in response to the new Omicron variant. Jabs are to be offered to all over-18s in the UK by the end of January.
Nurses and other healthcare professionals have a deadline of April 2022 to get their COVID-19 vaccination. Only staff who are medically exempt or do not have face-to-face patient contact will not be compelled to get the jab.
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