RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Dr. Josh Albrektson has been looking at X-rays of COVID-19 patients for nearly a year now. He's a diagnostic radiologist who has been central in the fight against the coronavirus.

"People with congestive heart failure – their heart stops working, and fluid starts building up in their lungs. I would see that on COVID patients all the time," Albrektson said.

"They're drowning on the inside," he said.

It's why he was on the front lines in helping to get the vaccine to the public. He and his wife were among the 44,000 to be part of Pfizer's vaccine trial in America. He helped encourage about 200 people to do the same.

"Because I was a doctor and I'm friends with them, they took my word on it that this would not harm them," Albrektson explained.

As passionate as the doctor is about medicine, he loves the Chargers just the same. He even traveled as far as London to cheer them on. He is one of four local health care workers the team is sending to the Super Bowl on Sunday.

"I'm like, oh my… wow. The Chargers picked me out of all people to go to the Super Bowl," he said.

"With the pandemic, there [are] only about 20,000 people (allowed in-stadium), the fact that I get to be one of those 20,000 people, I was just thrilled, blessed, thankful beyond belief."

With the Super Bowl coming to Southern California next year, he said he believes SoFi Stadium could have a full house.

"If people don't turn down the vaccines and we start producing more vaccines, we could have like pretty close to full stadiums during the regular season next year," Albrektson said.