James Argent was pictured arriving at his GP surgery in Essex on Tuesday to receive his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine.
The former TOWIE star, 33, is in a priority group due being severely overweight at 26 stone and asthmatic. He previously said he could be in ‘serious trouble’ if he caught the deadly virus.
James, who is planning to have life-saving gastric surgery after his doctor called his weight ‘danger territory’, drove to his appointment on his blue Vespa.
Getting his jab: James Argent was pictured arriving at his GP surgery in Essex on Tuesday to receive his first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine
The vaccine roll out last week moved onto the next phase, with over-65s and younger people with underlying health conditions in England being offered the vaccine as the programme moves down through the priority list.
Last month James spoke about his plans to have life-saving gastric surgery after his weight ballooned to 26 stone.
He also revealed how being obese has ‘serious implications on my heart’- something which is of concern to him because both of his parents suffer from heart problems.
The former TOWIE star, 33, is in the high-risk category due to being asthmatic and weighing 26 stone
Vaccinated: Arg was pictured heading out of the surgery clutching his appointment card
The vaccine roll out last week moved onto the next phase, with over-65s and younger people with underlying health conditions in England being offered the vaccine as the programme moves down through the priority list
Speaking on Loose Women, he told the panel: ‘My doctor said the weight I am right now, 26 stone, that is danger territory. My mum and my dad both suffer from heart problems and my dad has got a pacemaker so there could be serious implications for my heart.
‘People even say to me, with my weight as it is at the moment, if I catch Covid, I could be one of the people that could be in serious trouble.’
He added: ‘It is difficult as it is intense and serious. It’s nothing to be taken lightly. I know that if I just work hard then I can do it. It’s just about maintaining it. I’ve always struggled finding a happy medium.
‘I believe from the research I’ve done, it can potentially really help me in terms of portion control. It’ll help me long-term. Health is number one.
‘I’m rotating three different clothes as that’s all that fits me at the moment. All my friends and family haven’t said it’s too drastic – I think I have to go for it.’
James cut a casual figure for his appointment in a black Rolling Stones hoodie of their song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’.
He teamed the look with orange trainers and black joggers.
Time to drive: He put his helmet on as he headed home
James, who last month said he is planning to have gastric surgery after his doctor called his weight ‘danger territory’, drove to the surgery on his blue Vespa
James cut a casual figure for his appointment in a black Rolling Stones hoodie of their song ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’
James recently confessed that while he’s now marking a year of sobriety after overcoming his drug addiction, his weight has left him too embarrassed to leave the house and he spends hours alone comfort eating.
He told The Sun: ‘I don’t want to die. An op is the only way I can lose weight. I see pictures of myself and it’s too upsetting. The other day I had to ask my manager to put my shoes on for me because I just couldn’t do it — my belly is too big. I can’t do up my own shoe laces.
‘I don’t want to die, it’s as simple as that. I’ve been told by doctors that I am morbidly obese and need to lose weight, but I have an eating disorder, so I can’t do it.’
James said he’s now agonising over which form of stomach surgery to have with both operations costing around £10,000 each.
He’s deciding between a gastric bypass, which sees part of the stomach stapled to make it smaller, and sleeve gastrectomy, which is a more permanent procedure which sees a large section of the stomach removed.
Both operations will dramatically reduced the amount of food James can eat, meaning he will lose weight, and the star said he’s due to decide in the coming weeks which procedure he’ll have.
The media personality has faced a much-publicised battle with his weight, which has drastically fluctuated since he rose to fame in 2010.
In 2015, the musician was the slimmest he’d ever been, after transforming his physique by losing a whopping four stone.
But since then, James’ weight has crept back up, and he confessed he’s now too ashamed to leave his home during the day, and waits until it’s dark to go out in the hope he won’t be recognised.
The Essex native said that even his close friend Mark Wright has been moved to tears with concern about his size, and finally convinced him to face it by stepping on the scales.
James admitted they were stunned to see he weighed nearly 27 stone, and warned him he needed to take his size seriously as it was having a serious effect on his health.
Discussion about this post