Celebrating Father's Day with one of Montreal's leading COVID-19 researchers
Life is a little busier these days for Dr. Donald Vinh.
As an infectious disease specialist at the MUHC, he’s spent the past 15 months working with his team to better understand COVID-19.
“It’s one of those things where you train for it and you know the theory, but you’ve had little practice,” he said.
Despite long days of research and meetings, outside of the lab Vinh is equally as busy, taking care of four children and a 150 lb Saint Berdoodle named Leo.
“We are a large family. There’s six people and one large dog,” Vinh said. “I have to be fully cognizant of the fact that none of this work or life success could have actually been achieved without my wife.”
It’s a team effort to carve out family time.
“There are times when we’re not able to spend time together because I’ve got work obligations or they’ve got their school commitments,” he said. “My two oldest ones are adolescents so now they’ve got social commitments, but we try to make sure every day is some sort of family day.”
Vinh also manages time for media interviews, which he sees as an opportunity to better inform the public on the pandemic.
“I think if we can educate the public, but more importantly communicate in consistent and clear way to the public then I think the public will appreciate and understand that and then they’ll understand ‘Ah, okay, that’s why we need to do this.’”
Despite his many responsibilities in the lab, like so many dads, it’s fatherhood that comes first.
“Unfortunately, I lost my father when I was in medical school so I already knew at a very young age what it was like to not have both my parents around,” Vinh said. “But it instilled in me that we want to be absolutely sure that we give our children the best opportunities possible.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.