Some local doctors are using music to relieve some of the stresses of COVID-19 and an especially difficult work schedule.
Dr. Shira Doron is an infectious disease expert at Tufts Medical Center by day and the lead singer of a band by night.
That band, known as Off Label, features three medical doctors and a PhD. It was started a decade ago as a fun diversion from saving lives — now, it may just be saving theirs.
“January, February, March, April I was working 18-19 hour days,” Doron explained. “Weekends were just like weekdays.”
“We can all relate to the hardships of practicing medicine and some of the difficulties, but it’s also a time for us to put that behind and just relax a little bit,” Thoracic Surgeon and guitar player Dan Wiener said.
Off Label has performed alongside the likes of Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Pops. Now, like most musicians in the COVID era, they are downsizing.
“We’re moving those gigs to some back yards over the next few weeks,” Doron said.
But, they said their music is mostly just for fun and these doctors know better than anyone that fun will have to get them through for a while.
“I think it’s gonna be a pretty long time before we’re crowding into bars and yelling and singing because of course that’s been shown to be one of the highest risk things that you can do. So we’ll wait it out,” she said.
All of Off Label’s outdoor concerts will follow mask and social distancing guidelines.
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