I will never forget that day of January 2020. I was about to turn off the TV news after doing some workout. Honestly, I was not even attending to it, but suddenly I listened some words that not only caught my attention but also gave me chills: “coronavirus outbreak in China”. All that I could think about in that moment was: “those are very bad news…”. It is surely what anyone that had gone to med school would think about, since we have learned that even when the coronaviruses have been there since a very long time ago, they have reminded us the harmful they can be during not very old global health disasters that have occurred. I was even more concerned because I thought I could figure out the worst scenario based on what I saw and lived during the flu epidemic in 2009 while doing my internship in Mexico City: a total overwhelmed healthcare system, very ill patients and panic everywhere. 

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Sadly, I was not even close to imagine what we would see 2 months later where reality had exceeded our expectations by far. In fact, while the days and the weeks passed, we knew that the then called epidemic was spreading so fast and the number of cases were rapidly increasing in both sides of the world. Although it was evident even for the blindest eyes that things were becoming worse day by day, I kept up listening from some newsmen in the media, on the social web and as well as within my closest circles some comments disregarding the importance that it actually had as compared to the seasonal flu or other epidemics along the history that seemed to be more aggressive or, from the social and political point of view, to circumstances apparently more detrimental for people than just an invisible enemy. And finally, by mid-March when we then were facing a pandemic I just stopped hearing from those comments as at that point nobody could deny it: it was not “just a flu” nor “something very far from us”, it was something just as powerful as making entire cities and countries to lockdown, and making our everyday lives about to a dramatically change, if not they had already. 

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Without any doubt, we are currently living a historic moment and we are going to appreciate its real dimensions only in time and by keeping the proper perspective of the landscape. I am convinced that it is not just by chance that I had to experience it while living in the US capital and while being part of the National Institutes of Health scientific community, which have helped to me to seeing things from another perspective and to closely witness all the actions and scientific progress made as a result of the course of the unknown, including so many promising studies and ongoing clinical trials and the first assays of a new vaccine that is going to impact for sure all the waves derived from this pandemic. 

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Although I certainly have resented being far away from my family and at the same time not being able to go to my Institute nor to enjoy the particular beautifulness of this city during the Spring season, the support provided from the IIE, the Fulbright staff in Mexico and from my PI Dr. Mariana J. Kaplan, has been fundamental. Even though most of my work is experimental we have designed a teleworking plan according to earlier recommendations in order to not suspend my scientific progress during these unprecedented times. 

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Nobody imagined this while doing our New Year’s resolutions; nobody imagined to hear all those painful stories from the world around, particularly relating to losing thousands of lives by the first quarter of the year; nobody imagined hearing or suffering a sudden loss of their jobs or their financial stability; nobody imagined to hear just the sound of silence on the streets even in the biggest cities; nobody imagined that hugs and kisses would turn into mortal weapons; nobody imagined that people would not be able to go to church even on Eastern Day because otherwise it would be disastrous; nobody expected that keeping away from your loved ones would be the best way to protect them and to show how much you love them. Unexpectedly, my worries and fears are too different now from what they were a few weeks ago. But even in the middle of this huge sea of uncertainty, I have learned two big lessons: We must be thankful for this miracle called life and assess every day because neither of us nor anything else will remain the same forever; and mainly in moments like these, how valuable and retrievable is to be a healthcare worker and a scientific researcher. In fact, the current situation may serve as a wakeup call to all the governments around the world to invest in and give priority to healthcare and scientific research in all their programs and budgets and not to wait for any health emergency to do so.

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Everything is constantly changing right now, and things are not going to be the same after this, for sure! The answers to our questions are not always there. But we undoubtedly will endure this, and the take-home messages will remain. 

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We as scientists and as observers and researchers of the creativity of thousands of our colleagues that have paved the road to a healthier life, are confident that as in the past centuries, the human race has found its way to overcome all sorts of challenges, as difficult as they might had been. Let’s just keep in mind about other pandemics that have changed the course of humanity but have not destroyed it.

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Note: Dr. Jorge Romo Tena wrote this in his individual capacity and his views do not represent those of the NIH or the U.S. government.