“Officers need priority access to vaccines”

31 December 2020

Police officers should be given priority access to Covid vaccines, says the national chair of the Police Federation.

John Apter has called on the Prime Minister to ‘do the right thing’ and ensure officers are given the protection they deserve.

He has written to Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), calling for new and urgent representations to be made to the Government on officers’ behalf.

“It’s time for the Prime Minister to do the right thing for police officers in the thick of this pandemic. I am calling on him to back my colleagues in their time of need as more are absent from work after contracting the virus or having to self-isolate,” John wrote.

“We’ve lobbied the NPCC which has raised this directly with Government. Despite positive responses, no formal decision has been made, and we now need immediate Government action. That’s why the Prime Minister must make a decision - does he support police officers being prioritised for the Covid vaccine or not?

“This is certainly not about jumping the queue in front of the most vulnerable members of society or those on the NHS frontline. It’s about ensuring policing is resilient enough to cope with the demands of the pandemic and that my colleagues can continue to support the public during these exceptional times.”

He explained that, due to the nature of their role, officers often could not avoid working in close contact with members of the public, creating a risk for them, their families and the public.

“Officers could be carrying the virus but non-symptomatic and therefore, by the nature of their role, risk being super-spreaders. We don’t want officers to inadvertently, and unknowingly, spread the infection as they go about their day to day duties because officers have no choice but to interact with the public when dealing with calls that come in and it is often with the most vulnerable people. This contact places the public at greater risk of infection, as well as being an organisational risk for the police service,” John continued.

“We know that the number of officers who are contracting the virus or are having to self-isolate is increasing, which creates a resilience issue for policing. There is a strong argument that police officers must be prioritised to receive this vaccine as this will not only protect them and their families but the general public too.”

Pete Musgrave, chair of Humberside Police Federation, welcomed the national Federation chair’s comments and action.

“I don’t really understand why police officers are not higher in the list of those being prioritised for the vaccines,” said Pete, “While no one would argue with the most vulnerable people in our communities and those on the NHS frontline being first in the queue, the police service is an emergency service and as such needs protection too.

“As more and more officers either contract the virus or have to isolate due to contact with someone who has it, I am concerned that we are soon going to start experiencing serious issues around resilience.

“Police officers will do their best to maintain effective policing services for the communities they serve but they need the Government to act now and ensure that they are given priority access to the Covid jabs.”