The new Omicron Covid-19 variant has been doing the rounds, multiplying each day at an accelerated rate. With a new target set for all adults in England to be offered a booster jab by the end of this year, we at iGlobal look back at our Frontline Series to review some of the valuable advice and thoughts from our National Health Service (NHS) medics.
Leading Cardiothoracic Surgeon at St. Bartholomew's Hospital Dr Shyam Kolvekar bursts myths about the Covid-19 vaccine. It is only natural to be wary about taking the vaccine that has not even been out for long. He explains that “everything in life has side effects! The side effects of the vaccine are very small. You are at higher risk of getting hit by a bus than having a serious side effect with any of the vaccines.”
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As most of us had locked ourselves at home and the world had nearly shut down, our brave doctors, nurses and every other medical staff were out there on the battlefront. Dr Sutapa Mookerjee, Consultant Paediatrician opens up about the coping mechanisms that she adopted during the period of increased workload. “Regular human contact helped me with my emotional wellbeing. Talking to my close relatives and friends and walking in the park with my husband after work helped me cope during this challenging period.”
For our mental wellbeing, she suggests that “music is an essential tool that helps to elevate the human spirit.”
Dr Vinay Raniga, founder of Dentify shares his experience working in the ICU alongside others on the NHS frontline. He says, “it came down to duty and the values that I grew up with as a British Indian. Doing the right thing, helping others, and doing public service is very important to me. I’ve always grown up with the mentality that you have to serve others, because that is what brings fulfilment. There is nothing better than helping someone get better.”
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“Certainly, in the first wave, we saw that children getting Covid weren’t impacted the same way as adults were. The new variants are actually causing more problems in younger adults in their 20s”, reveals Paediatric Respiratory Junior Doctor and acting representing body chair of the British Medical Association (BMA), Dr Latifa Patel.
She further adds: “There are cases of long covid where symptoms of Covid-19 have a long-lasting impact on the physical health; fatigue and muscular pain.”
The NHS is an ever expanding family with more and more individuals educating themselves to be healthcare professionals. “The teamwork and the sheer joy of helping people in distress trumps every other feeling in the world. When patients recover and go home, it is the biggest prize in the world”, justifies General Practitioner Dr Nilanjana Haque. “Without a shadow of a doubt, no other profession has this level of job satisfaction.”
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Dr Varadarajan Kalidasan, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children expresses his gratitude to the public who showed kindness and appreciation for the NHS.
Once again, the healthcare professionals, NHS staff members, care home workers and everyone in between were amongst the first in the country to get vaccinated. If they have had it, so can we!
