A 60-year-old COVID-19 vaccine refuser who had a near-death experience after catching the virus said he regrets ‘holding his horses’, BBC reports. Abderrahmane Fadil, a citizen of the UK, refused to take the vaccine in February. 

“It was the biggest mistake” of his life, Fadil told BBC after he spent nine days at the Bradford Royal Infirmary struggling to breathe. 

The father of two also thanked the National Health Service (NHS) staff for saving his life. Fadil urged others to get vaccinated.

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“I will never forget when the paramedics were taking me down the stairs and my kids were crying and looking at me,” Fadil said, as per BBC reports.

He added that watching his sons as he was taken to the hospital was ‘one of the saddest scenes’ he has witnessed. 

“I was taken straight for oxygen treatment. I rang 999 because I couldn’t catch my breath. I was contemplating death. That’s the nearest I came to death. I was staring at it in the eyes,” he continued.

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Fadil expects to be recovering for many weeks to come.

“I was a bit reluctant and just thought I’ll hold my horses and maybe get it later. I never really believed I would get COVID or it would make me so ill. I know differently now,” he said.

Tanveer Khalid, a respiratory consultant in the team responsible for Fadil’s care, said the 60-year-old had been very lucky to survive.

“The majority of very sick COVID patients we have on our wards are here because they have refused the vaccine,” Khalid said, according to BBC. 

As per the BBC report, about 70% of the adults at Bradford have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Across England more than 84% of adults have been vaccinated.