(upbeat music)
- I think for the first time,
since I've been a consultant a specialist
at the beginning, I wasn't sure what to do.
I was trying to provide patients with the best care,
but surprises kept happening.
We hadn't seen this disease before.
And I came home, I remember a few times thinking,
I don't know if I've done the right thing of work,
it was difficult.
Patients were behaving very differently to other diseases.
And that was difficult as this senior member
of clinical team people come to me for answers.
- There's definitely a lot of pressure and expectation,
you know, most scientists like their ultimate dream
is to work on a technology or medicine or something
that would potentially have a positive impact
on human health, right?
And so, being able to work on a vaccine in this pandemic,
I think has just been such a cool opportunity for all of us
that, it's really a privilege to be in this position,
as opposed to, you know, stressful.
- (indistinct) times it's just the not knowing,
is what I'm doing really going to make a massive impact
in the case where I'm exposing myself to the virus,
Like, all these questions come into your head.
And then on top of that,
the workload has been completely crazy,
so no one really can relate
about them about healthcare or key workers.
(upbeat music)
- So both my children volunteered straight away to help,
and we became an NHS family,
even my son who's not medical,
was delivering medicines for pharmacy
and spending time in the community helping.
And I think that that has been a real level of
the fact that we were all able to rise to the occasion
and become part of the community and help people.
it's been a real source of strength.
I think the only thing I've done differently,
is I've taken up cycling.
I think, you know, it was a particularly stressful time
and trying to protect you on the clinical front,
trying to just escape during a period of national exam
was quite important to me.
So I ended up, you know, like middle-aged men
finding a bit of like crap and, you know,
that's something I've come to cope.
(upbeat music)
- I think the first few months
are not going to be very different to 2020.
I think we're not out of the woods yet,
but at the risk of mixing my metaphors now saying,
that I think there is light at the end of the tunnel.
- Before hands, you know, there's never been
an approved RNA vaccine before,
cause it's a relatively new technology.
So to see two of the first candidates that are RNA vaccines
that'd be so effective is really great.
I think it's just totally going to change
the way that we make vaccines in the future.
- Feeling very much more optimistic really.
I mean, I think we shouldn't underestimate the challenges
that are ahead of us.
You know, not least in rolling out a vaccine to
50, 60 million people in due course.
But obviously that has started,
and I think that really does suggest that come April,
there'll be times that things will be changing,
you know, I have very much hope
that we're going to see much less restriction.
I've got a summer holiday booked last year,
that's been deferred to this year,
and I'm pretty much hoping I can get on it.
- I think one of the most important things
that seems to have come out of this period,
is a real focus on the structural problems
that we have in society.
Part of that story has been
the really tragic toll that COVID has taken
on minorities that are disadvantaged.
And a realisation about the circumstances
in which people are operating.
And the valuable role they play in society
it's really human story,
and I really hope that we can learn
to value what we need to value.
(upbeat music)