Meet Health Practitioners on Campus
“Voice from the Field” is a new feature of the newsletter where we are going to interview experts from related fields on up-to-date topic.
Interviewed: Dr. Mona Gao Interviewee: Emma Guo
The topic of this issue is campus health. The idea of interviewing staff at the campus clinic occurs naturally to us since they should be one of the most authoritative persons on this topic. During this interview, we will ask about the general health status on campus, facts about COVID-19 vaccines, which is a heated issue recently and some tips for staying healthy.
Dr. Mona Gao is the full-time physician of the campus clinic. Her main job responsibility is providing primary care to Duke Kunshan students and clinic management. She received her M.D. from Peking University, Beijing. Previously, she worked as a doctor in Beijing and different public healthcare sectors of Singapore. She became a skilled and experienced family physician. She aims to provide international standard health care to DKU students.
Bio: Dr. Mona Gao is the full-time physician of the campus clinic. Her main job responsibility is providing primary care to Duke Kunshan students and clinic management. She received her M.D. from Peking University, Beijing. Previously, she worked as a doctor in Beijing and different public healthcare sectors of Singapore. She became a skilled and experienced family physician. She aims to provide international standard health care to DKU students.
Emma: Hi Dr. Gao, what are the most common diseases or situations that the campus clinic would encounter when students come to visit?
Dr. Gao: In fact, the problems we helped with are of all kinds. Some common diseases include respiratory tract infections, especially infections of the upper respiratory tract, digestive tract infection, such as acute gastroenteritis, trauma, which might happen during physical education classes, girls’ dysmenorrhea, otorhinolaryngology problems, such as conjunctivitis and external ear canal inflammation and some oral problems, such as oral ulcer and wisdom teeth. These are some of the most common problems and they are very diverse because we are also a general clinic.
Emma: Witnessing these health concerns, do you have some tips for students to live a healthy life?
Dr. Gao: In fact, we have given relevant lectures on respiratory tract infections, especially upper respiratory tract infections, or cold or flu as we always call them. In order to prevent this type of disease, we must first take care of ourselves. For some students, college is their first time to leave their parents and live independently, so they lack the experience of self-care, for example, adding or removing clothing according to the weather. There are also some tips that we often talk about, such as washing hands following the 7-step method that we have advertised at various locations on campus, which is very important in preventing both respiratory and digestive tract diseases. Additionally, we would suggest students who are sick wear masks or take classes online if possible, to avoid cross-infection on campus.
Emma: Since our school has also started the COVID-19 vaccination process, many students have many questions about the different aspects about vaccines being offered. What are some simple facts that you would like students to know?
Dr. Gao: We have received a lot of questions about COVID-19 vaccines and these questions can be concluded into these categories. First of all, side effects in both the short term and the long-term. Our domestic vaccines are all inactivated vaccines so there are no active genetic components of the virus so we don’t need to worry about the long term effects. In terms of short-term effects, it basically has the same level of side effects as previous flu vaccines. There might be some local reactions after vaccination, including red and swollen skin, arm pain, mild fever and fatigue, but serious ones are rare.
The second question is about two-dose versus 3-dose vaccines. Two-dose vaccines are inactivated vaccines, and the three-dose vaccines are recombinant vaccines. Two-dose vaccines usually take about 3 to 8 weeks to complete the whole process while three-dose vaccines take 6 months. Therefore, for those who have a definite plan to go abroad, it may not be suitable to receive three-dose vaccines given the tight timeline.
Another common question is about contraindications. As long as you meet these following conditions, even if you have a history of allergies, you can still receive the vaccine. First of all, you do not have a severe or life-threatening allergic reaction, which involves severe swelling, laryngeal edema, syncope, and angioedema. Secondly, you have not been allergic to previous vaccines before. Thirdly, you do not have an allergic reaction one week before the vaccination. It’s worth noticing that even if you are allergic to eggs, you can still get the vaccine, which is a little different from the flu vaccine.
Also, many people are wondering how long the protection can last. Because the vaccine was developed only last year, there is no clear conclusion for now. But research has shown that it can last for at least 6 months.
The trickiest question is about students who might go to Duke in the fall. For now, we don’t know whether Chinese vaccines will be recognized by the U.S. or whether you can receive U.S. vaccines after getting Chinese vaccines because we have limited cases of these situations so far. But personally, I would suggest getting vaccinated first if you wish to have the protection for yourself. Theoretically speaking, the production processes of Chinese and U.S. vaccines are different, and it should not be particularly conflicting, However, there is no official statement or conclusion yet.
