Beto O’Rouke joins El Paso healthcare workers for vigil marking pandemic anniversary
EL PASO, Texas — El Paso healthcare workers held a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening to honor the more than 3,500 "healthcare heroes" who have lost their lives to Covid-19 nationwide.
“It’s time that we pay attention to healthcare workers who are sacrificing so much and show them the appreciation they deserve through action,” said Erika Morales, a local healthcare worker who lost her husband to Covid-19.
“My children and I only wish my husband could have had the opportunity to get vaccinated so that he would have had a fighting chance to survive. Let’s not ever forget all that healthcare workers have done and let’s come together to fight our way out of this pandemic,” she said.
Former El Paso Congressman Beto O'Rourke was the featured speaker at the gathering, which marked the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus being declared a pandemic.
“We are grateful to the healthcare workers who have risked their lives to save the lives of so many in this community and throughout the country,” said O'Rourke. “Let's show them how much we appreciate their service by continuing to wear masks and following the best public health guidance.”
The Service Employees International Union, which organized the vigil, expressed concern over Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to lift the state's mask mandate with only 8.4% of Texans being fully vaccinated currently.
“The fear we have is that the Governor's decision to rescind the mask mandate will cause a new surge of infections that will kill Texans and overwhelm the hospital system,” said SEIU Texas President Elsa Caballero. “A lot of hospitals are short staffed and workers are beyond exhausted already and frankly not getting the support they need to deal with the crisis we have now.”
Healthcare workers attending the event said they felt it was important to take a moment to pause and remember all that El Pasoans have sacrificed over the past year.
