The title of this article in today’s Boston Globe has no doubt set some alarm bells in Massachusetts.State police were offered COVID-19 vaccines at work. Hundreds have refused to receive themGiven the priority that Governor Charlie Baker has given to vaccinating first responders and the efforts made to make that happen, it would no doubt be a disappointment if state police showed in large numbers that there is reluctance to vaccinate. to get. That is clear what the title of the article says, but is it true?
While the Baker administration has turned down calls for teacher-specific clinics, arguing that it could divert doses from other needy populations amid tight supply, the state created three state police vaccination sites for soldiers and other first responders during the earlier phase of the rollout.
On Friday, 2,002 of 2,847 eligible state police employees, including civilians, had received at least one dose at one of the ward clinics in Framingham, Plymouth or Chicopee, according to data released in response to a Boston Globe request. .
“Police officers in general, especially today with all the surveillance on them, I think they are very skeptical of just about everything,” said Dennis Galvin, a retired state police major and president of the Massachusetts Association for Professional. Law Enforcement, a group of current and retired law enforcement and criminal justice advocates. Galvin said he is personally scheduled to receive his first dose on Tuesday.
Based on the numbers reported, it appears at first glance as if more than 800 of the approximately 2,800 troopers have passed through to get vaccinated. That’s over 25%, and it probably wouldn’t be good news to the rest of the state’s residents. But there is clearly more here than meets the eye.
First of all, if the Globe immediately admits that that data comes only from the three specific pods set up by the state solely for police vaccination. Some officers may have ended up elsewhere for their vaccinations, especially if they live far from one of the three police pods. Others may have underlying conditions that caused their doctors to advise them to wait.
Police union officials representing state forces told reporters that they do not monitor or monitor vaccinations among their members. The police have been advised to consult with their doctors and decide for themselves. In other words, they cannot confirm or deny the total number of unvaccinated agents. So it is quite possible that the vaccination coverage among the troopers is considerably higher.
Unfortunately, that may not be the case in other areas of law enforcement in the Bay State. The Globe has managed to set figures in two areas where it is confirmed that hesitation about vaccines is well above average. At the Bristol County sheriff’s office, 66% of the people who work there have declined the opportunity to be stabbed. It’s almost as bad at the Department of Corrections, where more than half have said no thanks for a shot. That’s especially worrisome when you consider infection rates in prisons, where outbreaks have escalated much faster than in the general population when they occur.
For some reason, I had the impression that the whole vaccine reluctance had diminished significantly now that the shots have been rolled out in large numbers. Catastrophic consequences of vaccination are almost unheard of, and even incidents of serious, although non-fatal, side effects are only seen in a small percentage of those vaccinated. Hopefully we’ll get this all sorted out eventually, but for now in Massachusetts there are clearly some first responders who still have their doubts.