Submitted by Chip Evans, co-founder, and the Leadership Team of Indivisible Northern Nevada
The pandemic and human failure have produced many victims. Those who have died or suffered injury and their loved ones top the list. Next among the victims are our first responders and healthcare workers, most of them driven by a deep desire to help others. They are on the frontlines of this long public health disaster. Many are separated from their families, deprived of rest, struggling for peace of mind, distraught from witnessing so much unnecessary death.
And if that weren’t enough, these caregivers have to cope with the disregard of their experience by too many – those who deny there is a virus, or who insist against all evidence that COVID-19 is no worse than a minor flu, or who dismiss their sacrifices as political hoax, making them co-conspirators.
Indivisible Northern Nevada members want our healthcare workers to know we see you as heroes and we thank you for all you do for our community.
We call on our elected officials and our community to support our healthcare workers as they fight this pandemic. We urge everyone to drop the politics and follow CDC guidelines to wear masks, maintain social distancing and wash their hands regularly. Without question these measures reduce the burden on our healthcare system and its workers by slowing the spread.
We further urge commitments from government to assure an adequate supply of high-quality personal protective equipment now, and to create an equitable inoculation program for when a safe and effective vaccine becomes available.
Let us also support our individual healthcare workers. Thank them. Be good listeners and respect their occasional need for distance. Be part of the solutions to C-19, not part of the problem. Adhere to public health policies. Donate food or supplies to their workplaces. Give them a gift.
Lastly, let’s all confront the memes that seek to diminish the severity of this pandemic and the sacrifices of our healthcare workers.
Indivisible Northern Nevada is a grass-roots organization committed to supplying consistent, informed and ongoing pressure to our Members of Congress in support of our progressive goals and values. Indivisible Northern Nevada, a non-partisan grassroots volunteer organization, welcomes everyone who believes that humanitarian values should inform public policy. We hold elected representatives accountable for their positions and their votes. In 2020, we are determined to strengthen our democracy by getting our voices into the public discussion.
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