Football spirit leads the fight against the pandemic
HKWC COVID-19 Combat TeamHong Kong West Cluster
During the early phase of the COVID-19, Professor Ivan Hung, Honorary Consultant of Department of Medicine at Queen Mary Hospital (QMH), was leading the HKWC COVID-19 Combat Team to fight against the virus at the forefront. He and his colleagues set examples by being as the first team to collect specimens, draw blood and perform nasal and throat swabs on patients, with a determination to reassure other healthcare workers that it is safe to handle COVID-19 patients in negative pressure rooms so long as they have donned proper personal protective equipment.
“All our members are specialists who volunteered to be part of the team. We are like a football team. We have a leader who makes the planning, medical experts to safeguard the patients’ lives, as well as strikers to perform clinical research. I am a huge fan of Liverpool F.C., and being in this team reminds me so much of their motto — you will never walk alone”. Professor Hung cannot hide his smiling face as he speaks of his favourite soccer team. Dr Anthony Tam from Department of Medicine of QMH is also amused by his keen sharing. Recalling their year-long journey battling the COVID-19, Dr Tam finds it most remarkable that a number of critically ill patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit have fully recovered after receiving triple therapy and convalescent plasma treatment.
Professor Hung emphasises, “The practical experiences accumulated from SARS have greatly enhanced our preparedness over the past 20 years. We have been stepping up efforts in refining virological tests and enhancing the accuracy of diagnosis through close monitoring of the cycle threshold (Ct) value, the time that antibody developed, inflammatory markers as well as the chest radiograph. All such hard work would ensure we give the best treatment at the most appropriate timing.”
In the future, the team will further study on COVID-19 vaccines, including those imported from other countries as well as the intranasal vaccine being developed by the University of Hong Kong. The team will continue to walk with Hong Kong citizens in this battle against the virus.
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