ABC News: George Roberts
)The moment Jeannette Young knew Australia was facing a pandemic she broke down.
"I just burst into tears," Dr Young said.
It was January 2020 and the virus was on its way to Australia.
"I just thought, 'I don't want this, I don't want this for the world, I don't want this for Australia'," she said.
Dr Young had been to China in late 2019 and had seen their world-class health facilities.
She knew if China couldn't stop the pandemic, the rest of world had little hope.
Dr Young had lived through the swine flu pandemic and dreaded the stress of another.
"I rang my husband who was away … and said 'please could you come home, I actually do need you, I can't do this'.'" Dr Young said.
Together they devised a plan — he would take leave and be at home to cook meals and provide support.
"Boy he's a good cook – so I've been really lucky!" she said.
ABC News: George Roberts
)In a frank behind-the-scenes insight into the past 14 months of navigating the pandemic, Dr Young revealed what went through her mind.
Speaking at a netball leadership conference in Brisbane this weekend, she said support from her family, the Premier and her health department team helped her through it.
"They knew me very, very well and knew how I wanted to do things and knew how to challenge me," she said.
"A team of netballers who are all great shooters would be a total waste of time.
ABC News: Christopher Gillette
)"It's the same at work. You don't need yourself replicated five or 10 times; you need 10 different people with different skill sets, different views."
'You've got to back yourself'
Dr Young pointed out there was no rule book for dealing with a once-in-a-lifetime event.
"Even if you don't know what you're doing, you have to have a course of action," she told the conference.
"You've got to have a plan."
But she admitted, she didn't hold an unwavering belief in her own decisions.
"Things like that last lockdown of Brisbane, which was three days — I didn't know we'd get it sorted in three days," she said.
She admitted using up a lot of favours that she accrued over her 15 years in the job.
"I think you've got to gain that trust in times of peace, so you can really go and use it in times of war," she said.
The Chief Health Officer had the audience of leaders hanging on her every word, which at times burst into laughter.
Especially when she admitted to needing exercise.
"I'm not one for exercising," she sheepishly revealed to the audience's delight.
"So I thought, well, maybe I might take my own advice.
"Here I was, the Chief Health Officer out there every day telling people to do 30 minutes of physical exercise everyday.
"I thought maybe I could try it and see if it makes a difference.
"And guess what? It did!"
'Light at the end of the tunnel'
Dr Young said she believed that Queensland was through the worst of the pandemic.
"The most exciting part has been getting the vaccine," she said.
She doubted if there ever would be one.
"The world had never had a coronavirus vaccine [before]," she said.
AAP: Nigel Hallett
)"In fact, the one vaccine that had been developed, caused the people who got the vaccine to be sicker than the people who didn't get the vaccine when they got infected."
But she said the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines were the "light at the end of the tunnel".
"I should have absolutely, totally had faith in the scientists of the world. They have done the most amazing job, they really and truly have, and we now in Australia have two brilliant vaccines," Dr Young said.
Her final message for the crowd was to encourage everyone to get vaccinated, but to expect side effects.
"Don't be worried. Getting a response to a vaccine means you've got a really good immune response to it," she said.
Two years ago most people wouldn't have known who Dr Young was.
Now she can't leave a keynote speech without people asking for photos and selfies with her.
"It's nice," she said as a self-professed 'fan-girl' asked for a photo with the Chief Health Officer.
Despite her undeniable triumph over the pandemic so far, Dr Young says she hopes to never have a repeat of the past year.
