Cavite doctor shares story after getting COVID-19 four times; urges others to get vaccinated

Believe it or not, a medical frontliner in Imus, Cavite, has tested positive for COVID-19 four times in just a year and three months amid the pandemic, and she survived to tell her story.

Dr. Jennifer Gaspar first contracted the virus in April 2020. According to her in a Facebook post on Tuesday, Sept. 14, she suffered from diarrhea and dyspnea (shortness of breath), and stayed in the hospital for two weeks.

In January this year, Gaspar again tested positive and found herself back in the hospital after experiencing dry cough, dyspnea and easy fatigability.

For the third time, in May, Gaspar tested positive, with severe symptoms that later resulted in pneumonia and hypoxemia, which occurs when the blood’s oxygen levels are lower than normal.

“First I had low back pain and headache. I thought it was just UTI. But then I developed chills, fever, body malaise, anosmia (loss of smell), and ageusia (loss of taste),” she wrote. “This time I knew that this is not just plain UTI.”

A month following her recovery, Gaspar received her first dose of vaccine against COVID-19, but a few weeks before her second dose, her swab test result turned out positive for the fourth time.

However, the doctor did not develop any symptoms, did not require hospitalization and was eventually treated.

Now back on duty and fully vaccinated, Gaspar has urged others: “Guys, vaccines work, no matter what the brand is. Please get vaccinated.”

Gaspar added that their hospital is also currently understaffed, with many other healthcare workers testing positive for COVID-19. /ra