Dear unvaccinated patient,

We are very worried about you. We know the reasons for choosing not to be vaccinated are complicated, so we are not judging you, but the situation is now urgent. You see, by getting vaccinated, everyone who is vaccinated has been shielding you. Because those jabs have stopped vaccinated people spreading the Delta variant there has been much less chance of you catching coronavirus.

The problem is that Omicron can infect vaccinated people even if they have had two jabs. If it does, those jabs still probably mean they will not get seriously ill. But it does mean that the shield they have put around you is weakened because they can pass it on to you. This makes it much more likely you will be infected in the next few weeks. And if you catch Omicron, you might get seriously ill, in similar numbers to the first wave.

This is why we are rushing to offer booster jabs, to repair that protective shield for you, the unvaccinated. The message in the media that it’s to protect the NHS from being overwhelmed. But really it’s because we are trying to protect you. The NHS being overwhelmed only happens when lots of people are really sick and right now unvaccinated people are at the highest risk of that.

We think the vaccinated people are proud to protect you, even while not fully understanding why you have said no to the vaccine. But we are very worried our efforts to repair the shield by getting vaccinated people boosted might not be enough. You can still protect yourself by taking the plunge and getting the vaccine. That first dose will start to protect you within days, so the sooner you get it the better. Many who have said no before are coming forward now, and we celebrate each of you as you do. Please join them. You will be protecting yourself. Even more, you will become part of the shield, not the shielded.

Phone the surgery and tell the Receptionist you need your ‘First Jab’, or visit http://www.blackcountryandwestbirmccg.nhs.uk/your-health-services/health-advice/covid-19-vaccination to book your jab or find a walk-in centre.

We will always look after you, and will never judge you for your choices. But it is part of our duty to be honest with you about the risks you are facing. We hope you can appreciate this is what we are doing now in the face of a major health crisis.

Yours sincerely,

Lordswood Medical Group team