Dame Elizabeth Anionwu shared pictures of herself getting the jab, and tweeted: ‘They say a picture is worth a thousand words – well here are three taken when I had those three COVID-19 vaccinations.’

Another nurse said it is the ‘single most important thing I, we, can do to avoid being admitted to ICU or dying from COVID’.

The social media pleas come as unions called for a delay to mandatory vaccinations for NHS staff in England, warning it would be ‘self-sabotage’ at a time when the health service faces high numbers of staff absences.

The RCN, Royal College of Midwives and Trades Union Congress all said a combination of high staff absence due to the and loss of unvaccinated staff would force a workforce crisis.

Dame Elizabeth Anionwu was among the nurses who promoted voluntary vaccination on Twitter

Picture credit: Elizabeth Anionwu

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said the college supported vaccination, but current staffing pressures mean that patient safety was being compromised.

‘Nothing matters more to a nurse than caring for their patients safely. Right now, our members are telling me they can’t always do that,’ she said.

‘We are calling on the government to recognise this risk and delay a move which by its own calculations looks to backfire. To dismiss valued nursing staff during this crisis would be an act of self-sabotage.’