Major Bùi Thanh Thuyết with her sons before departing to support health workers in COVID-19 hotspots. — VNA/VNS Photo

Major Bùi Thanh Thuyết, a 37-year-old doctor at the 108 Military Hospital, prepares for her latest departure to support frontline teams in the fight against COVID-19.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic first appeared in Việt Nam in February 2020, Major Thuyết has headed a team responsible for taking samples and sending them for testing.

The work was hard and there was a high risk of infection, but she and her colleagues were steadfast, collecting and analysing samples as quickly as possible. 

She was recently sent to support frontline teams at the epicentre of COVID-19 in Bắc Giang Province.

"We have to stand very close to people to take samples from their throat and nose. Our actions taking samples often make people cough and choke, which causes a high potential risk of spreading the virus," Thuyết told Tin Tức (News) newspaper.

"We always have to focus to both ensure our own safety and the progress of our work."

Thuyết said she sympathised with the hardships many are facing, particularly when she saw health workers in protective equipment, drenched in sweat and working all night. Some were exhausted and fainted because of the long hours they worked in arduous conditions, Thuyết ​said. 

During the fourth wave of COVID-19, her family have stepped in to care for her two sons. Their time is split between her hometown with their grandparents and a military centre with their father in Thanh Hóa Province. She has even had to ask her children's teacher to take care of them.

“In this special situation, my children understand the hardships of their parents and they have grown up on their own. I see their changes through words, gestures and habits when I returned home after each time I have to work away from home," said Thuyết.

She missed her children very much and wanted to go home with them, but even they encourage her with phone calls and messages saying "Mom, you complete the mission and come back to us!".

She has worked hard to fight the pandemic, for the pride she feels in the blue shirt she wears, for the unconditional support her loved ones give her, for her community and for the Vietnamese people.

There was one posting where Thuyết and her colleagues had to stay in a COVID-19 hotspot for two months before they could leave.

As the head of her team, she always encourages her colleagues to listen and share their opinions on how to best complete their tasks together. 

Working in the Department of Microbiology at the 108 Military Hospital, she has also made contributions in scientific research related to sepsis, clinical characteristics, molecular biology, hepatitis E and D viruses, and the application of advanced techniques in diagnosis. 

"There are many people who have been silently doing their duty all day and night for the common good of everyone. They are quietly supporting us without knowing."

"We are always willing to work when the country needs us. We try and work hard not for the certificates of merit, but in the hope of contributing a small part to the fight against the pandemic,” Thuyết said. — VNS