'Learn from me: don't delay getting your jab', implores 23-year-old Royal Preston patient

Now on the mend, Megan Roberts said: “Please go and get your Covid vaccines. Don’t be putting them off. It’s better to have them done sooner rather than later.

“I’ve spent the last couple of days in hospital really, really sick with not having my Covid vaccines.

“Don’t put them off. Just go and get them.”

READ MORE >>> Plan to reduce Royal Preston's waiting times hampered by continued Covid pressure - and how new Chorley Hospital theatres could help .

In the seven days to August 14, Lancashire reported 4,437 cases of coronavirus, an increase of 167 (5.1 per cent) on the previous week. Besides the two weeks at the end of July, Lancashire has reported a steady rise of Covid cases every week since mid-May.

Up to and including August 19, 82 per cent of adults in Lancashire had had their first dose, while 73.5 per cent had had their second dose.

As of August 18, Public Health England reported that throughout the pandemic, there had been 147,266 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Lancashire.

In total, there have been over 6,390,000 cases of Covid-19 in the UK, with more than 131,000 deaths.

By August 23, all 16 and 17-year-olds in England will be offered their first Covid-19 jab. There are approximately 1,400,000 people in this age bracket in the country, of which over 360,000 have already had a vaccine due to an underlying health condition.