Case Studies

No vaccines by occupation

by Mark Rowe

Police have reacted angrily to further coronavirus vaccination being by age, rather than by any occupations.

John Apter, National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “My colleagues have been on the frontline since the first national lockdown last March, risking infection and even death to keep the public safe.

“Together with others across policing, we have never said police officers should jump the queue but should be prioritised. It’s right that the most vulnerable and health and care workers were vaccinated; but what about police officers who cannot mitigate against the risks of contracting and spreading this deadly virus? Yet the calls to prioritise policing have been ignored.

“The very nature of policing is unpredictable and means my colleagues often cannot socially distance. They are going into people’s homes, going into hospitals, and having to get up close and personal when helping people or making an arrest.

“Many officers are reporting sick or self-isolating and our numbers are falling, sometimes dangerously low. We have also lost a number of colleagues to this virus too. Yet the Government continue to hide behind the science of the JCVI. What about a moral duty to my colleagues and their families?

“Giving police officers the vaccine would not only protect them and their families but also help prevent the spread of this virus. We are sick of warm words and no action by our political leaders who have demanded so much from policing during this pandemic.”

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said that a mass vaccination strategy centred specifically on occupational groups would be more complex to deliver and may require new vaccine deployment structures which would slow down vaccine delivery to the population as a whole, leaving some individuals unvaccinated for longer. Operationally, simple and easy-to-deliver programmes are critical for rapid deployment and high vaccine uptake.

Paddy Tipping, the chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), said: “Police and Crime Commissioners have pushed hard for frontline officers and staff to be prioritised in the next phase of the vaccination programme. No-one wants to jump the queue over those most at risk – it was right that the most vulnerable in society were protected first – but we feel strongly that, of those who are yet to receive a first jab, police officers are now among the most vulnerable.

“Police officers cannot work from home. They cannot maintain distance from the public. Throughout the pandemic they have put themselves in harm’s way and, as the public’s patience with lockdown wanes, assaults on police officers are increasing.

“PCCs understand the position of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, but policing can help. Forces have trained staff who can perform vaccination. All we need are supplies of vaccines and we’ll do the job.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair Martin Hewitt said that the NPCC was disappointed that frontline police officers and staff have not been prioritised in the next stage of the vaccine rollout. “Those on the frontline interact with members of the public on a daily basis and due to the nature of our work, social distancing is not always possible, and many have been subject to disgraceful assaults involving coughing and spitting. This increases the risk of transmission to officers as well as to the public.

“We have always supported the decision to prioritise the most vulnerable in the vaccine rollout but asked that frontline officers and staff should then be considered as a priority group.”

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