Real heroes

The past year-and-a-half has posed the biggest challenge to frontline health workers around the globe. The raging pandemic and its devastating impact has made people realise the importance of doctors, nurses, and other health workers. And why not? These are the people who have been bravely fighting against this virus, right in the battleground when the rest of us are being told to stay home and wait it out. Thousands of doctors and other health workers have themselves succumbed to the virus while treating patients, at times for several days without a break. While on one hand people across Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India are largely confined to their homes with businesses and educational institutions all shut down in an attempt to contain the virus, doctors, health-care workers, and medical staff members are leading the battle against COVID-19 from the front. Putting their own lives at risk with selfless determination for the sake of saving lives, they truly are our heroes in these challenging times. While they are putting their own health, families, and most importantly their own lives at risk, the least we can do is appreciate their efforts and cooperate by staying safe indoors. That being said, it is good to see tributes pouring in for all the medical heroes working in scrub. Needless to say, doctors, nurses and people working in health-care sectors are particularly vulnerable to the highly infectious disease. In response to the global pandemic, the under-resourced doctors are facing unprecedented challenges. The list of the sleep-deprived heroes includes doctors, nurses, medical cleaners, pathologists, paramedics, ambulance drivers, and health-care administrators. In the fight against coronavirus, the brave medical army stands strong with thermometers, stethoscopes, and ventilators as their weapons. Since the coronavirus outbreak, health-care professionals have not only experienced the gratification of healing patients and saving their lives but have also lost many battles along the way. On top of that, many doctors have even sacrificed their own lives in the line of duty. Every day, the selfless warriors are giving it their all in health-care settings while cutting themselves off from their families and loved ones. The sacrifice that they are making for the safety and welfare of humanity is priceless and deserves lifelong gratitude on our end. Most importantly, we must reassess the value health-care workers hold in our lives and the kind of treatment they get from us. Among the several lessons this coronavirus pandemic has been teaching us, the biggest one is to find ways to sufficiently invest in the better and more efficient medical fraternity and give medical professionals the respect, compensation and infrastructure that they truly deserve once this crisis is over. Moreover, the world needs to work towards advancement in medical research and technology. Nothing will be a greater tribute to the health-care workers than this.