Vaccines for first responders

[WaltzingBetty]

Today I went for a walk with a friend of mine who is a serving police officer. In his daily work he's active in the community, polices protests, breaks up fights, makes arrests and disperses illegal gatherings. In the course of his work he has regular physical contact with the public, performs first aid and is attacked and spat at.

He has no idea when he might receive a COVID vaccine.

I have had my first jab. I am eligible for the flu vaccine as I have coeliac disease. I have no signs of immuno suppression. I am grateful for the vaccine but do not feel I should have been prioritised over first responders.

My friend is a community mental health nurse. She has been working from her office since last March and rarely sees a patient. She was vaccinated in feb despite almost increased risks of exposure as she isn't working directly with patients.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't have been vaccinated, but I do t think our risk factors are not comparable to the potential exposure of first responders dealing with large scale public disorder or even minor physical exposure during arrests etc. It does rather strike me as a tick box exercise rather than a genuine assessment of vulnerability.

This petition calls for vaccination of police officers and other first responders.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/564155

Please sign

I’m a police officer and there is no indication of when I would have received the vaccine.

I did get it yesterday but only because I registered as an unpaid carer as I do a shopping for an elderly lady. Many of my colleagues are now doing similar for their own reasons.

I'll sign the petition now, thanks for the link
Really shocked they haven't been prioritised. They should've been at the stage it opened to unpaid carers.

Whilst i think police officers have a risky profession and would like them jagged before me, let's be realistic. A 25 year old police officer is less at risk of Covid than a 40 something fat person (like I am).

BUT we are out of the priority groups now. So it probably wouldn't be too hard to go to police headquarters with a load of vaccine.

The police officers most at risk though will have been vaccinated.

And if we look at Italy, we can see that police officers along with teachers, judges etc did get prioritised.

Italy now has a higher death rate than the UK and a very large number of over 80s have not been vaccinated.

@Wakeupin2022 It’s not just about being at risk of covid. It reduces the impact of mass isolations within the shifts/groups and the wider impact to the community.

And there isn’t a single 25 year old in my department, the youngest is probably 35 with most of us between that and mid 50’s.

I’m 43.

[quote Nicknacky]@Wakeupin2022 It’s not just about being at risk of covid. It reduces the impact of mass isolations within the shifts/groups and the wider impact to the community.

And there isn’t a single 25 year old in my department, the youngest is probably 35 with most of us between that and mid 50’s.

I’m 43.[/quote]
How does it reduce mass isolation? I wasn't aware vaccinated people were exempt from isolating?

@Wellbythebloodyhell Anything that reduces the likelihood of contracting covid will surely reduce the possibility of isolation surely 🤷🏻‍♀️

Any little helps, as they say!

The petition doesn't even close until 30th June by which point almost everyone will have their invite.

Vaccinated people are less likely to get ill and therefore less likely to need to isolate. Also as Nicknacky says it's about wider impact on the community. Police and other first responders are going into people's homes and are frequently in very close contact. says it's about wider impact to the community. Not everyone, particularly the most vulnerable, will be fully protected from vaccines. It helps if first responders are also vaccinated.

It doesn't reduce isolations though. If you come into contact with someone with Covid then you still have to isolate.

I guess if the police are vaccinated then the chances of you coming into contact with someone with covid are reduced.

I think when we have enough vaccine then we are rolling it out so quickly then it doesn't really matter.

Perhaps it does need some thought now when supply is a bit more scarce.

What percentage of police officers have received their 1st vaccine?

@Wakeupin2022 Are you asking me that question? If so I have no idea but in my personal experience it’s very low unless they have conditions or are in the age bracket for my area.

And if it is getting rolled out quickly then there is no harm done in giving it to first responders first, right?

They should absolutely be prioritised. The risk to their own health is high. That's before the discussion about community transmission and isolation periods. They deserve to be as safe as possible.

@Wakeupin2022

Whilst i think police officers have a risky profession and would like them jagged before me, let's be realistic. A 25 year old police officer is less at risk of Covid than a 40 something fat person (like I am).

BUT we are out of the priority groups now. So it probably wouldn't be too hard to go to police headquarters with a load of vaccine.

The police officers most at risk though will have been vaccinated.

And if we look at Italy, we can see that police officers along with teachers, judges etc did get prioritised.

Italy now has a higher death rate than the UK and a very large number of over 80s have not been vaccinated.

Ate you trying to suggest there's a link between vaccinating police officers and a high rate of covid? If not then I'm not sure what your point is?

@LavendulaAngustifolia

The petition doesn't even close until 30th June by which point almost everyone will have their invite.

If it hits 100000 it will have to be discussed I proline the before then

I agree this should have been irresponsible sooner, but there's still value in letting the government know that we value the lives of first responders

@Wakeupin2022

It doesn't reduce isolations though. If you come into contact with someone with Covid then you still have to isolate.

I guess if the police are vaccinated then the chances of you coming into contact with someone with covid are reduced.

I think when we have enough vaccine then we are rolling it out so quickly then it doesn't really matter.

Perhaps it does need some thought now when supply is a bit more scarce.

What percentage of police officers have received their 1st vaccine?

I think when you spend your day with the risk of attack, spitting and general exposure to COVID in order to safeguard the public, the message that the country values your service and your life enough to offer you a vaccine does matter.

The whole thing has been a shambles.
I work for the NHS and there was no order in which staff were offered vaccination.
Secretaries working from home were given it in December and people working v v close to patients February.
Its madness that the police havnt had a vaccine.

Police probably should have been prioritised with NHS staff. I don’t really see the point of it now though, we are pretty much done with the vulnerable groups so will be getting onto the 40s and 30s very soon. I also don’t agree that it has been a shambles, the vaccination program is the one thing that has gone well here and we’ve got through way more than other countries.

@Hyacinth88

The whole thing has been a shambles. I work for the NHS and there was no order in which staff were offered vaccination. Secretaries working from home were given it in December and people working v v close to patients February. Its madness that the police havnt had a vaccine.

I agree @Hyacinth88 It seems totally non-strategic

I'm not saying police shouldn't be prioritised or the daft comment that suggests I think police spread Covid!

The main goal of vaccination is to ensure the NHS is not over burdened and then save lives. That is what has been done with the vaccinating they have done so far.

If they had vaccinated police earlier then other frontline services would have wanted vaccinated too. (Even if I do actually think the police are higher risk than others).

I don't really see why NHS staff who work from home were prioritised. I get the point that they are important to keep the NHS ticking over, but the chances of everyone working at home having covid at same time were always small.

The police are at less risk now that they were in January say because there is so much less Covid about.

And the police officers who have the highest chance of dying are already vaccinated.

Would I be annoyed if a younger police officer got his jag before me - not at all. And if if JVCI decide that's what should be done then that's good.

But I think my main point is that more lives have been saved by not vaccinating police officers 1st. Other countries have done it the opposite way and there deaths are still very high where ours are not any longer.

And in no way is our vaccination campaign a shambles. And I think its actually quite appalling to say that!

Ultimately tensions are high and people are nervous understandably, but the JVCI know what they are doing and it's being done in a very strategic way.

NHS back-office staff, wfh for a year vs frontline police? No contest. Self-declared 'Unpaid carers' who pop in a neighbour's shopping once a week vs teachers who have been 'safe' in classrooms with kids who aren't testing, whose families refuse to test with symptoms and who are not social-distancing at all?

Don't get me started.

I can’t believe they’ve not been vaccinated first?

@Wakeupin2022

I'm not saying police shouldn't be prioritised or the daft comment that suggests I think police spread Covid!

The main goal of vaccination is to ensure the NHS is not over burdened and then save lives. That is what has been done with the vaccinating they have done so far.

If they had vaccinated police earlier then other frontline services would have wanted vaccinated too. (Even if I do actually think the police are higher risk than others).

I don't really see why NHS staff who work from home were prioritised. I get the point that they are important to keep the NHS ticking over, but the chances of everyone working at home having covid at same time were always small.

The police are at less risk now that they were in January say because there is so much less Covid about.

And the police officers who have the highest chance of dying are already vaccinated.

Would I be annoyed if a younger police officer got his jag before me - not at all. And if if JVCI decide that's what should be done then that's good.

But I think my main point is that more lives have been saved by not vaccinating police officers 1st. Other countries have done it the opposite way and there deaths are still very high where ours are not any longer.

And in no way is our vaccination campaign a shambles. And I think its actually quite appalling to say that!

Ultimately tensions are high and people are nervous understandably, but the JVCI know what they are doing and it's being done in a very strategic way.

So what's the strategy behind NHS staff with no patient contact. Or other risk factors being vaccinated versus first responders ?

No one is suggesting that the police should have been prioritised over 70 year olds or vulnerable patients. No one has suggested that police officers should have been vaccinated first. But I'm not sure admin staff should have been either

@RedHoodGirl

I can’t believe they’ve not been vaccinated first?

I was shocked too.

@Ffsffsffsffsffs

NHS back-office staff, wfh for a year vs frontline police? No contest. Self-declared 'Unpaid carers' who pop in a neighbour's shopping once a week vs teachers who have been 'safe' in classrooms with kids who aren't testing, whose families refuse to test with symptoms and who are not social-distancing at all?

Don't get me started.

Totally agree