Doncaster veteran urges people to get Covid vaccine after 125 days in hospital

• Video report by Adam Fowler

A 50-year-old army veteran from Doncaster is urging people to have the Covid vaccine after he spent 125 days in hospital with the virus.

Brian Keogan was discharged from Doncaster Royal Infirmary after catching coronavirus in March last year. Nearly a year and a half later he is speaking out as he still has to rely on oxygen and a wheelchair.  

Brian, who is suffering from long Covid, caught the virus before he was eligible to get vaccinated.

He had been in an induced coma, developed sepsis, suffered a collapsed lung and given a 40% chance of survival. His lungs are now scarred, he finds it difficult to walk and a machine provides him with 0.5 litres of oxygen every minute.

With new research showing those who are fully immunised are three times less likely to be infected, and with more young people set to be offered the jab, Brian says it is vital people take the opportunity as soon as they can.

In Doncaster the infection rate is 409 cases per 100,000. That is a 45% fall from the previous week, but still much higher than the national average. 

More effort is now being made to encourage take up of the vaccine among the young, which Brian supports.