A doctor working on the frontline against

A doctor working on the frontline against has issued a grim warning about the long-term effects of contracting the virus, as he urges Australians of all ages to ‘take any opportunity’ to get vaccinated.

Sach Kepp, who works at a public hospital in Sydney, took to Facebook to share harrowing scans of his patients’ lungs in a bid to illustrate the ‘grossly abnormal’ impact of the highly infectious Delta variant .

Dr Kepp said while there is much discussion about rare vaccine side-effects, the focus should be on the long-term implications of catching the virus which include respiratory failure, blood clots, heart disease, chronic fatigue and memory loss.

He spoke of entire wards being shut to facilitate an influx of Covid-positive patients and hospitals in Sydney buckling under the ‘incredible burden’ of caring for those too ill to remain at home, while elective surgeries and screenings are cancelled.

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Sydney doctor Sach Kepp (left) has issued a grim warning about the long-term effects of contracting Covid.He urges Australians of all ages to ‘take any opportunity’ to get vaccinated

A pair of healthy lungs (left) compared to a scan of a Covid-positive patient (right); the lungs are speckled with fluffy white patches caused by low oxygen levels, while scans of healthy lungs should be almost completely black

‘Symptoms have been seen to last beyond 12 months, and who knows for how long after that,’ Dr Kepp wrote.

He continued: ‘How many will need long term oxygen? How many will have pulmonary hypertension and associated heart problems?How many will have recurrent blood clots?

‘We do not know. Developing countries would kill for access to any of these incredibly effective vaccines, and we have access to two!’

Australia currently has stock of AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs, but the rollout has been plagued from the outset by of AZ for younger age groups.

Once the envy of the world boasting a country almost coronavirus-free, Australia’s bungled vaccination program has left residents frustrated with an incessant cycle of lockdowns and border closures.

Only 20.8 per cent of adults are double vaccinated, one of the lowest jab rates in the OECD group of 38 rich nations.

But none of the 22 NSW residents to have died during Sydney’s latest Delta outbreak had received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

<div class="art-ins mol-factbox femail" data-version="2" id="mol-542357f0-f7f6-11eb-b2fe-7938019361c7" website the frightening reality of life on a Covid ward

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