The Homesick EMTs Of Manila Ease The Strain On Hospitals Coping With COVID

Clarisa Andres, a petite 22-year-old, hasn't been home in over a month. She's homesick, but she says she can cope.

She's an emergency medical technician with the San Juan Early Response Network – one of the few women on the 63-member team – and the pandemic has amped up their work of responding to medical emergencies. They work 24-hour shifts, 7 days a week and when they're on call, they live in a dorm with other health-care workers.



Only now, some of them rarely go home when they're off. Even though they're all vaccinated, they're concerned they could still contract the disease and infect family.

"Of course we get tired, we get exhausted sometimes," she tells NPR. "But when you see their smile, when the patient thanks you, you feel fulfilled."