‘BUT it’s not a Covid cough doctor!”

I have heard this a few times from patients recently who have called the practice, having either had a fever or a new and persisting cough, but have chosen not to take these symptoms seriously. In times gone by, many of us would have rightly self-managed such symptoms – but sadly, in a pandemic, when these symptoms could be fatal, we simply cannot become complacent or ignorant.

It has been a long year and many are getting tired. Last week I challenged someone on why they had not followed the guidance to self-isolate and organise a test. Why had they chosen to continue to go out to work and interact with others while being symptomatic? The response baffled me. “Because I don’t believe in Covid!” they replied. I continued to explore further and what transpired was that they had not encountered anyone in their social networks who had suffered from Covid and therefore had bought into the conspiracy theory that Covid was made up.

I cannot tell you how frustrating this is because it not only makes our job harder as healthcare professionals – these theories prolong the recovery period which impacts everyone.

This week I had my own personal experience as a patient. My baby developed a fever. Children get viral infections all the time, especially at this time of year, and while I was fairly confident that this was likely a common ailment, I could not be 100% sure until I ruled out Covid. We immediately self-isolated and booked her a test.

It is always insightful being on the other side, albeit stressful! I was amazed at how quickly I was able to get a test organised. It was a surreal experience, unlike anything I have done before. Driving into the test site then being directed by masked key workers in an otherwise desolate space was quite unsettling. All cameras (including dashcams) had to be turned off and I was given the necessary instructions and kit to perform the test on my baby. It was not fun!

Having to self-isolate and put life on hold until you get the result is hugely disruptive. As two doctors, who had clinics booked, it did cause a lot of stress behind the scenes. Our son had to stay off school and was upset because he was going to miss out on the Christmas show which was being filmed the next day, and we had the poorly baby. This is reality for most people right now. It is not easy but we have to follow the rules and we all have to do our bit.

Coronavirus has killed more than 60,000 people in the UK this year. This is not an insignificant number and if you happen to be someone who hasn’t personally suffered from it or don’t know anyone who has been affected, it doesn’t invalidate the reality that this is a deadly virus. We are living through a difficult time right now and what’s making it worse is the sheer volume of misinformation that is circulating. Currently many are feeding into the anti-vax narratives and fearing the Covid vaccine, which really worries me.

This pandemic is not a “you and I” issue. It is a collective problem and the only way out is if we all take it seriously and we all do our bit. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to take the advice seriously and to ensure that when you are hearing information about the virus, that YOU take the responsibility to fact check it yourself. Review who is telling you the information and how credible their source is.

The vaccine is out. From next week we, in Scotland, kickstart the programme to immunise people in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid. This vaccine is the light we have all been wanting to see for a very long time but for it to be effective in getting us out of the pandemic, we need everyone to be on board. I encourage you to absolutely do your reading and research and please ask the questions so that you can be fully informed and therefore help us to educate others. However, we also rely on you to crush the nonsense you hear and not become part of the problem.

The time-tested measures of handwashing, wearing face coverings and maintaining social distancing are as important as ever. If you develop symptoms of fever, a new cough or a change or loss in your sense of taste or smell, stop everything, self-isolate with your household and organise a test via 111 or the scot.gov website. This will not be forever but right now this is mine, your and our collective duty to do our bit. Covid is real and it is here to stay – but we need to take control rather than let it take over and continue to ruin the quality of our lives.