After Hours: Saqib Malik

Months after the spread of the global Coronavirus pandemic, it still poses a threat. While there is still no vaccination for the disease, it continues to spread in many parts of the world. And with lockdowns lifted, many will be vulnerable to the virus. Medical professionals and researchers are working day and night to find a cure for Covid-19. TEdit spoke to New York based Pakistani physician Saqib Malik who has studied at American universities including Rutgers University and at St George’s University and internal medicine at Coney Island Hospital and infectious diseases at SUNY downstate in Brooklyn NY about Covid-19 and its various ramifications.

Has science cracked Coronavirus?

Science has absolutely not come close to cracking Covid-19.

Is a second coronavirus wave in the offing? Will it be deadlier?

It’s hard to say but may be the truth. Based on other countries experiences of resurgence after lockdown it’s possible but it’s too early to really know that for a fact yet.

Who is at highest risk when it comes to Covid-19 ?

The people at highest risk are the frail, the weak and the debilitated. Also the ones who require care and who are vulnerable to bad respiratory disease. We have also seen patients in their 20’s and 30’s who are young and otherwise considered healthy also get extremely sick and lose their lives. In many ways that is the scariest thing about Covid-19, science does not actually know enough yet to predict who will be so sick that they die and who will be relatively asymptomatic. I saw patients younger and healthier than me die.

What can the most at risk do to reduce likelihood of
being infected?

Regarding reducing the likelihood of being infected, we know so little about this disease, still, that the main effective thing we can do is isolate ourselves from each other and cover our faces and wash our hands. I know it sounds stupid and simple but unfortunately science only really knows this much so far.

How soon can we expect a Covid -19 vaccine and will it really work against Coronavirus?

The fastest vaccine in history was mumps that took about four years . Vaccine development is an imperfect process that takes a long time to develop. There are many great minds of our time working 24/7 and using novel techniques that have not been used really up until this point , so it’s conceivable that out of the 150+ projects to develop a vaccine one will be marginally successful . But how soon? And how successful remain to be seen. We should be optimistic but realistic.

Are the current SOP’s effective enough to curb the spread of Covid-19 or more can be done?

I think SOPs are effective if we actually adhere to them which generally people don’t! For example don’t wear your mask on your chin!

What are some challenges confronting you in a time
like now?

I think that coronavirus have brought incredible challenges that has changed the way we practice and deliver medicine. I think we could write novels about it.

How successful do you think Pakistan has been when it comes to combating the spread of Covid-19?

I think that in Pakistan there was a lot of misinformation spread and there were a lot of concepts and theories that are flat out not true. We tend to not take something seriously until it happens to us personally. I think Pakistan was hurt very badly by the coronavirus and our system was crushed and our doctors were overwhelmed and an incredible number of people lost their lives both tested and not tested. And I hope that now in Pakistan doctors and nurses are given more appreciation and respect for the incredibly difficult and heartbreaking work they do. They have next to no resources and put their lives on the line every day and I think thah the government and society in general owes them some gratitude.