"The COVID-19 vaccine is the way to go" - Dr Despina Demopoulos

Listen to Dr Despina Demopoulos describe the excitement of getting the vaccine against COVID-19:

"Before I got vaccinated, I was worried I might not survive"

"This last year (2020) has been tough for doctors. We also lost more than 600 of our healthcare workers during the second wave. It's been difficult," says Dr Despina Demopoulos, a paediatric intensivist and head of the paediatric ICU at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Johannesburg.

In 2008, she received a Discovery Foundation Sub-Specialist Award to sub-specialise in paediatric critical care. "Fortunately, the children I've seen in the ICU who've had COVID-19 haven't been exceptionally ill," she says. "Most of the children in ICU do recover and do well."

And yet, the COVID-19 pandemic weighs heavily on her mind. "I've been fearful that something will happen to those close to me," she says. "I have an elderly mother who I still, up to this day, only see with a mask on and at a distance, so I haven't been able to give her the love and cuddles that I do want to give her. And before I got vaccinated, I was worried I might not survive, and wondering who then would look after my children?"

Living in the moment, one day at a time

Dr Demopoulos also shares her strategies for coping with the emotional strain of COVID-19. "If we don't take care of ourselves, then our patients will suffer. We see psychologists to help with debriefing when we've lost patients or when it's been difficult in the hospital."

At home, she restores her strength by spending time with her children outdoors, walking the dogs and eating healthy meals. "We've agreed that when we're off we really need to be off. I try to put down the phone and be with my family and try not to think too much about the hospital all the time. Because it does take its toll."

Vaccine brings new hope to exhausted healthcare workers

Dr Demopoulos says the hope of getting the vaccine has kept many doctors and healthcare workers going. "It's almost the light at the end of the tunnel," she says. "It gives us hope that one day we can get through this pandemic. When we started registering and getting our voucher numbers, and when it was in the country and they started vaccinating, I cannot tell you the excitement and euphoria that was among the doctors and healthcare workers."

Dr Demopoulos received her vaccine on 22 February 2021 at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. "I was so impressed with the organisation around the vaccination. I was so proud of Bara and of South Africa's vaccine rollout," she says. "I saw colleagues that I knew, and one by one we all started getting vaccinated, everyone started taking their selfies and everyone was so super excited."

"I was excited that my immune system was responding and that this meant I wouldn't die of COVID-19," she adds. "I could still get it (COVID-19) but it would be mild. This would allow me to carry on looking after my patients and my family."

COVID-19 vaccine is "the only way"

"The COVID-19 vaccine is the way to go," she says. "There's a hope that if we get to community immunity, then this virus won't have a host to keep jumping to, and maybe eventually we can go back to normal."

Her advice to South Africans?

"Don't be scared to vaccinate - we've done it. I can't wait till I can vaccinate my mom. I can't wait till I can vaccinate the people I love that have comorbidities that are at high risk of dying of COVID. If you're given the opportunity, please take it. Please do it for yourself, your family and our country."

"It's probably the only way we're going to get through this and eventually get back to normality," she adds. "It's the only way that we'll be able to allow our older population to be free again. It's the only way we'll be able to go back to spending time together."