"The virus is, I think, winning, but we have a big firearm in our possession now we have the vaccine," doctor Javier Marco tells CGTN Europe. "I think that is going to change the situation drastically."

It's a stark assessment of the battle against COVID-19 – but Marco should know: He has been one of Spain's leading figures in the pandemic fight.

From helping set up Madrid's famed IFEMA emergency field hospital at the height of the crisis to his current role looking after Spain's first facility specializing in coronavirus treatment, Marco has seen first hand the impact the virus has had – not only on himself, but on his entire profession.

To mark a year since the country's first lockdown, CGTN Europe went to meet the man they call Spain's "COVID-19 doctor."

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"People are tired, the pandemic has had an impact on our personal life. There's been an impact on our health," says Marco.

"There have been many cases of COVID-19 infections involving medical professionals, especially at the beginning of the crisis when we didn't have enough PPE," adds the doctor.

"That had a very demoralizing effect on us."

Marco says that the exposure to the virus isn't only physical: "We only talk about COVID-19, we read about COVID-19 and we are also a little tired – physically, mentally and intellectually."

A new hospital, a new challenge

In December, Marco was placed in charge of Madrid's Isabel Zendal hospital, which specializes in treating coronavirus patients.

And apparently, setting up the new facility presented new challenges, but not all of them were medical.

"There have been a lot of controversies around this hospital and its construction," Marco explains. "There was very bad press, and a number of patients did not want to come here at the beginning. 

"Now we have very good results treating the infection and the press is good again, but the beginning of the hospital was hard on us," he adds.

One year on from the start of the pandemic, Marco's thoughts are now moving to the future, and how he can hopefully pass his knowledge and experience on to a new set of doctors.

"I'm not young any more – I'm going to be 62 years old in four months," he says. "I want to finish the things I was doing before I came here and to pass my professional occupation to the next generation. That's what I want to do."