A FORMER consultant who worked at Bradford Royal Infirmary for over 30 years is "urging" people in Bradford to take the Covid-19 vaccine when they get the opportunity.

Professor Liakat Parapia, who helped to treat patients with HIV and was also the director of the hospital's haemophilia centre, says that those who refuse to get vaccinated will "not only be putting their own lives in danger, but the lives of others too".

Professor Parapia, 71, also said that we are all "so lucky" that we have a vaccine now being rolled out, especially given that many of his patients who lost their lives to various illnesses over the years "were not so fortunate".

"In the early 80s there was a problem with HIV, and the situation is very similar to today. It was a new virus which people were frightened of, but unfortunately there was no vaccine - but there is one for Covid today", he said.

"At that time, all we could do was treat the patients as best as we could. But we are fortunate that now, for Covid, we actually have a vaccine.

"I had the Pfizer vaccine recently myself - I would urge everyone in Bradford to get theirs, there are no side effects and there is no reason not to get one.

"Even with the vaccine, you can still spread the virus, so social distancing and wearing a mask is important, but if we all get vaccinated, we can move forward."

Professor Parapia, who proudly describes himself as an "immigrant" having moved to the UK from Kenya as a 17-year-old, began life at BRI in the early 1980s as a consultant, and was one of the founding members of a leukaemia research fund which built a dedicated ward at the hospital for the treatment of blood disorders.

Now living in Guiseley, he says "I have always considered myself a Bradfordian" after over three decades' worth of service in the city.

Retired and now looking in from the outside, Professor Parapia has paid tribute to frontline health workers - including his son, Jamil - who he said was "one of the first people in Bradford to get the vaccine."

"There are so many people putting their lives on the line - I think getting vaccinated would be a way of showing respect to them", he said.

"One thing I feel strongly about is Dr Tariq Shafi, who died of Covid in May. He used to work in Bradford and trained under my registrar. He came to this country from Pakistan, he was a superb doctor and very dedicated.

"There are lessons to be learned from that. If he had the vaccine, he would have been saved. We should get vaccinated as a tribute to people like him."

Professor Parapia also dismissed some of the "rumours" around the vaccine as being "completely unjustified."

"There have been a lot of rumours saying these vaccines contain elements that are not desirable. But this is not true", he said.

"Vaccines are well-researched and have been tried on thousands of people. There is no doubt that it offers protection.

"We have over 1,000 deaths from this virus in Bradford alone. Surely that should be a lesson in itself.

"One of the great stories of medicine is that we eradicated polio and smallpox. There is nothing to fear from vaccinations.

"We are so fortunate we have something to fight this common enemy - an enemy that humanity has to fight together so we can survive."