I think it's great that people want to learn more about science, but it is important to think carefully about who has written the article or filmed the YouTube video, and what their motivation and funding might be. It is also worth considering their qualifications. Health professionals like me are legally required to give evidence-based advice. People with no qualifications, like Instagram influencers and celebrities are not. And while some use their profiles to amplify public health messages, others are not so responsible.

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Why does health advice keep changing?

Around March I read multiple studies on masks and concluded that there was not enough evidence to support widespread use for the public, but now I have changed my mind because more research was done that showed that masks for the public decrease the risk of catching coronavirus and may also decrease the severity of disease. When scientists, doctors and public health officials change our minds about health advice, it doesn’t mean we lack conviction, it means we are keeping up to date with new scientific discoveries.

Did my loved one really die of COVID-19?

I looked after many COVID-19 patients who sadly died. Most of the time, people weren’t allowed to visit their loved ones on the ward because the risk of infection was too high. While we did our best to help patients see their families over FaceTime and a short visit in the final days, it’s not the same as actually being there all the time. With some media commentators questioning whether people died "with" or "of" COVID-19, I can understand why they had questions. People just really wanted to understand what happened, and the grief was also compounded by the stress of living through a pandemic and not being able to sit vigil for those precious final days.

While all my patients were older and frail, and almost all had other medical conditions, I have never seen an infection that was so serious for my patients and caused so many to have severe difficulty breathing. They did not die with COVID-19, they died of COVID-19.

Will there be a vaccine?

There are three stages of human clinical trials for a new drug or vaccine. The first is phase one, where a limited number of people have the vaccine to determine whether it activates the immune system and to work out the dose. In phase two, a larger number of people have the vaccine to further determine the immune response and start to look at whether it is clinically effective. In phase three trials, often thousands of people will be involved, taking either a placebo or an active vaccine to answer the question of whether it actually protects people from the infection and is safe. There are currently numerous phase three trials of coronavirus vaccines around the world, which is the last step before they can be approved.

While there has never been a vaccine for another coronavirus for humans before, there has also never been much of an incentive or much research funding because most other coronaviruses in humans just cause a common cold. This infection is incredibly widespread in other parts of the world, meaning there are large, suitable populations for testing and I am optimistic that we will have a vaccine sometime next year.

Are you OK?

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Working on the COVID-19 ward was an incredible chance to use my skills to help the community, but it was highly stressful and very sad. I am lucky to have excellent support including colleagues who I shared the experience with and overall I am OK. Some of my colleagues are not. Some of my colleagues who caught COVID-19 are still recovering and are worried about long-term effects. Many healthcare workers are experiencing mental distress as we process what happened. There is also still a feeling of ongoing anxiety because we know how challenging this virus can be to contain and we are scared of another outbreak.

One positive that has come from working through this pandemic is how much we have learnt. We now know so much more than we did just a few months ago. We know that being outdoors is safer than being indoors. We know that masks help to reduce spread. We know COVID-19 can present with subtle symptoms so we can test and isolate early to reduce spread. We are getting better at this, and I am optimistic that we can build a safer society for the future.

Dr Kate Gregorevic is the author of Staying Alive (Pan Macmillan).