As a specialist in infectious diseases, the 70-year-old Penangite is no stranger to medical crises and has made headlines doing her work. She has volunteered in West Africa during the ebola epidemic, Libya during a cholera outbreak, and Vietnam, Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria during the HIV-AIDS epidemic and many other occasions.
But even with her vast experience, Lai said it is the first time that she is dealing with such a pandemic.
“It’s definitely very different from the other infectious diseases,” she told FMT. “Most of the ones that I’ve dealt with were localised and didn’t spread to other parts of the world, but with Covid-19, it’s crossed many borders and countries, even affecting the continent of Antarctica.”
Most recently, in April, Lai was volunteering in Elmhurst Hospital in New York, the epicentre of the pandemic in the US. The Harvard medical faculty physician was also stationed at the island of St Croix to help set up Covid-19 centres.
“The governor asked doctors from other states to go and help out because the doctors in New York were tired and needed a break. They had to be there almost full time and the entire hospital was filled with only Covid-19 patients.”
After things quietened down, she returned home to Boston to work on her latest book about her volunteering experiences. It is titled Into Africa, Out of Academia: A Doctor’s Memoir.
Lai has been based in the US since she left Malaysia in the 1970s to study medicine with a scholarship from Wellesley College.
She initially applied for scholarships at Malaysian universities after completing Form 6, but was left waiting for an answer on the status of her applications.
“My sister’s friend had just come back from America and he told my sister that I should apply for the US,” she said. “After some research, that’s what I did.
“I’ve stayed here because I didn’t graduate with a British degree. At the time, I’d have to take other exams to qualify to work in Malaysia.”
Things have not been all smooth sailing for Lai as she has had to fight her way through racism and sexism in her profession.
“As a minority and a woman, you really have to stand your ground, but it’s not easy,” she said. “Things don’t just fall on your lap. A lot of immigrants work very hard just to get to where they are.”
While her husband and three children are American citizens, Lai still proudly identifies as a Malaysian although she admits she has not kept up with the latest pandemic developments in the country.
However, she does have a message for Malaysians regarding the Covid-19 vaccine: “People should be rejoicing, not afraid.”
She took the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine early this month and assured Malaysians that the jab was safe with up to 95% efficacy and minimal side effects compared to the seasonal flu vaccine, which is only 75% efficacious.
“The reason why it was developed so fast was that it is a global outbreak,” she said. “So there are many people being constantly exposed to the virus and a big trial can be easily done.
“In the ebola era, scientists were also building a vaccine but by the time they were testing it, the outbreak was dwindling. So it was hard for them to get enough patients to do a trial.”
With international borders still closed, Lai does not know when she will be able to visit her family in Malaysia again, but she already has her eye on a volunteer trip to Greece to help Syrian refugees.
“I’m getting older but I don’t feel any less energetic,” she said. “I like to work in areas that I feel passionate about and I know a lot of healthcare workers in the hospitals are older than 60.
“I certainly would like to continue volunteering.”
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