Dr Mariam Zaidi works in the Covid ward of Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery in Dubai.
A 26-year-old doctor in Dubai had what could be the “quickest” recovery from the virus. After testing positive on February 13, it took her only six days to get two negative test results and, within a week, she was back to work.
Dr Mariam Zaidi works in the Covid ward of Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery in Dubai. When asked how she beat the virus in such a short period of time, her answer was simple: She had been vaccinated.
“Although the vaccine may not give you 100 per cent protection from the virus, it will ensure that the severity of the symptoms is reduced and it merely touches and goes in a short duration. And I am a testament to how vaccine helps you recover from Covid-19 without falling severely sick,” said Dr Zaidi, a general practitioner whose work exposed her to the virus for the larger part of the day.
When she got infected, she was mostly asymptomatic, except for a minor headache and sore throat. After her positive test result on the 13th, she got her first negative test on February 17 and the second on February 18. She was discharged as a Covid patient on the 19th and was back on duty the next day.
Dr Zaidi said she knew around seven people in her circle of family and friends who got Covid at the same time she did. And while she recovered, most of them are still experiencing severe symptoms.
“I am now helping my friends and relatives who also are down with Covid but the only difference between me and them is that I was vaccinated and they were not,” she told Khaleej Times.
Dr Zaidi got her second dose of the vaccine on February 7. “After which I continued assisting Covid patients at the hospital while taking all precautions in dealing with them. However, she began experiencing sore throat and mild cough on February 13 and didn’t delay the Covid test.”
Although she had very mild symptoms, the young doctor who stays with her parents and brother decided not to take any chance of spreading the infection to her family. She got herself admitted in the isolation ward of the very hospital she was working in.
“I was worried for my parents, who are both diabetic and hypertensive, so I didn’t interact with them at all and shifted to the hospital’s isolation ward the very day I was told about my Covid result.
“Another thing I was stressed about was how the infection would progress as I have seen that it usually peaks on the fourth day onwards but thanks to the vaccination, I only recovered from the fourth day and tested negative on the fifth and sixth day.”
Based on the experience, Dr Zaidi strongly recommends that everyone get vaccinated. “It is the only way to fight the pandemic and mark our victory against this deadly virus. With more youngsters getting admitted to the hospital in the second wave, it is crucial that all take the vaccine at the earliest.”
Dr Mariam also noted that in order to make a speedy recovery from the virus, one needs to eat well. “I was someone who never had any issue of acidity but I experienced it during Covid in a way that I lost my appetite. But I am glad that the doctors at Burjeel Hospital took immense care of me and gave me acidity medicine that worked wonders and helped me eat. I ate healthy meals that comprised healthy and light breakfast, salads, soups, fruits, juice and in main course fish and chicken. Nutrition was curated to perfection encouraging high energy diet at the hospital and I ended up feeling stronger and recovered soon.”
