Our shire lost lives and 501 homes and we have not even begun to scratch the surface of all the stories that should be told.

Just to remain at your post caring for the elderly, the sick, the distressed, meant going above and beyond in the extreme conditions we faced from late November to Autumn.

Those such as Lisa Wilson, who has been nominated for a nursing award, are unlikely to blow their own trumpets, but they should be celebrated and we are glad her name was put forward.

Every health professional who has maintained their role and their composure during this most trying of years deserves our thanks.

We cannot imagine what it must have been like for those charged with the care of patients or the elderly as bushfire bore down on our towns.

Some of the lowest-paid members of our communal workforce shouldered the heaviest burdens.

Aged care workers repeatedly moved vulnerable residents to safer parts of their buildings - only to have to turn around and do it all again ... and again.

All without causing panic or distress, particularly for dementia patients.

This scene would have been replicated throughout the shire many times.

Regular staff shortages were exacerbated as roads closed and carers simply could not reach their workplaces.

As Lisa Wilson's account shows, police had to escort nurses up the burning highway from Moruya to Batemans Bay to staff the emergency department.

On January 23, it was the turn of Moruya Hospital to feel the heat as the Deua fire scorched its way to the outskirts of the town.

COVID-19 has again put all of these health professionals on the front line.

We rely on their professionalism, their compassion and their bravery.

If only we could rely on them to cure those foolish people who insist COVID-19 is not real.

A vaccine for COVID-19 will come long before a vaccine for wanton stupidity.

The aged, the sick and those who care for them are at the most risk from such fatal obstinacy.

If you hear it, call it out.

At the same time, financial support for those who need it must be continued.