OUR PEOPLE OF THE YEAR:
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The army of doctors, nurses, lab
technicians, orderlies and other
health care workers of New York
City were called into duty like
never before not long after the
first confirmed COVID-19 case in
the five boroughs was reported on
March 2.
We can think of no greater
group of individuals in this city to
honor, and we urge you to join us
in applauding the frontline healthcare
workers of New York — our
People of the Year for 2020.
Why should they be honored?
Because they answered the call
when New York needed them the
most.
They answered that call despite
the dangers of the rapid-spreading
virus with its debilitating and
lethal effects.
They answered that call at a
time when no vaccine was available,
and no one had an effective
treatment for those suffering the
most from the illness.
They answered that call as more
and more patients filled their hospitals
in the dark days of March
and April.
They answered that call at a
time when they did not have all
the necessary supplies to treat
patients and protect themselves
while doing so.
They answered that call even as
their colleagues would fall sick to
the contagion themselves, and too
many of them died as a result.
They answered that call even
Caribbean L 12 ife, JANUARY 8-14, 2021
while enduring the emotional trauma
of losing patients to COVID-
19, and serving as the final link
between those patients and loved
ones unable to see them in person
but were left to make their goodbyes
via cellphone or computer.
Countless health care workers
in this city, as they took on this
virus, sacrificed so very much of
themselves personally. They took
great pains not to bring the virus
to their loved ones in any way.
Many stayed away from loved
ones in the groups most vulnerable
to contracting the worst symptoms
of the virus. Some even isolated
themselves in hotel rooms
and other places to avoid bringing
the contagion home.
They missed holidays, birthdays,
weddings, funerals, other
family rites of passage because
duty called, the lives of New Yorkers
hung in the balance — and
they answered it with every fiber
of themselves.
Not since the horrors of Sept.
11, 2001 has the city witnessed and
appreciated such sacrifice. On that
day of tragedy, it was the phalanx
of police officers and firefighters
who ran into the World Trade
Center, at risk to themselves, when
everyone else was running out;
though the attack cost 3,000 lives,
tens of thousands of others were
saved through such heroism.
The COVID-19 pandemic
wrought incomprehensible devastation
on our city during the first
wave. Now, amid the second wave,
the frontline healthcare workers
find themselves sacrificing themselves
once more to save lives as
more patients enter their hospitals,
clinics and offices.
They keep running into danger
as the rest of us socially distance,
mask up and look to keep away
from it. That is the very definition
of heroism.
In the days of spring, New
Yorkers began holding an annual
applause at 7 p.m. each night
to thank these special people for
stepping up in our defense. It was
a small gesture of gratitude from a
grateful city that will forever be in
their debt.
The struggle against COVID-19
is far from over, and the vaccine
offers hope that the end is finally
in sight. But we can find some
comfort knowing that between
now and the end of the crisis —
and long after the pandemic is but
a painful memory — these heroic
men and women stepped up to do
their job, care for the sick, comfort
the dying and heal this city.
We applaud and thank all of our
frontline healthcare workers for
the sacrifices they’ve made. And
if you’re looking for the best way
to thank them, there is but one
answer: stay safe. Mask up. Keep
socially distant. Get the vaccine
when it is available to you.
Let’s do all that we can to thank
and protect our healthcare heroes
— because they answered the
call.