NJ state epidemiologist says Chinese-American heritage helped ‘define her’ while fighting coronavirus
New Jersey’s state epidemiologist has been fighting the coronavirus for over a year, and says it been painful to endure.
News 12 Staff
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May 31, 2021, 4:52 PM
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Updated 1,058 days ago
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350ds agoNew Jersey’s state epidemiologist has been fighting the coronavirus for over a year, and says it been painful to endure.
Dr. Christina Tan says a pandemic has always been in the back of her mind, but facing it head on has been an emotional challenge.
She says seeing the suffering worldwide has been hard, but it’s been gratifying to know that scientists at the state level were in the thick of the fight.
Tan went to Princeton University, but says being a Chinese American helped develop her work ethic.
“That helps define me, but I also have a lot of other labels,” Tan says. “I’m a physician, I’m a mom and so on.”
The doctor says there is still a lot of personal responsibility for those who are unvaccinated as restrictions begin to ease.
Her role is to make sense of the science and share it with her bosses.
“The concept of working on public health requires a lot of different factors,” Tan says. “We provide our input related to the scientific data what we understand from talking to CDC and what we understand related to disease activity here in the state.”
The Garden State is still getting hundreds of new COVID-19 cases a day, but Tan says the caseload now allows for optimism.
