Councillor recalls Covid trauma and urges others to get vaccine

By Julia Gregory, local democracy reporter

A councillor who caught Covid is urging at risk communities it get the vaccine and help protect themselves and each other.

Keen runner Kasim Ali tested positive for the virus in December.

He said his temperature kept fluctuating from 39 degrees to between 36 and 37 as the virus struck.

When he first became ill he said: “I felt uncomfortable, I could not sleep properly, I was waking up every 15 to 20 minutes sweating.”

Councillor Ali said he realised that the virus could end his life.

“You question yourself and I thought I could actually die from this,” he said.

The  Labour councillor represents Dalgarno ward in Northn Kensington where Covid rates have been high.

He said black communities have been hit hard by the pandemic and he thought he could become one of the casualties.

“Maybe I could be one of the numbers,” he said.

The 39-year-old urged people from communities which are vulnerable to the virus to get the vaccine. People from black and Asian communities and people with disabilities have been hit disproportionately by the virus and councillor Ali  urged them to get the vaccine when they get an invite from the NHS.

“My fear is that the community that has been hit hard by the Covid-19 will be the least likely to get the vaccine.”

He feared that economic inequality and distrust of  government were playing their role in making some people think twice about getting the vaccine but said it could save lives.

He added: “This vaccine has been approved by doctors, the doctors that you can trust with your life. I want people to feel confident that this vaccination is good for yourself and the whole community and then you can get your life back.”

And he explained that whilst he did not lose his sense of taste or smell initially he did notice mood changes.

“I found myself very very angry, anger is related to Covid. It is very stressful.

“I do not see people expressing how stressful it was and how you feel depressed. The mood changes are because of the virus, the stress and depression and anger because you are fighting this thing.”

A few days after he became ill his wife Nasteha also tested positive for Covid. Her temperature was not so high but she lost her sense of smell and was coughing.

Councillor Ali said: “Mine was not that scary, mine was accepting that I could actually die from it. I was more worried when my wife got sick.”

The couple have now recovered and councillor Ali has just completed a first 10k training run after recovering, averaging 6mins 45 per km.