FDNY firefighters began receiving coronavirus vaccines on Tuesday, but a planned rollout of the shots for the NYPD was dropped, with a union memo referencing a delay at the end of the state.
“I got it because I want to protect the people I love, the people I work with, the people they love,” said firefighter Martha Brekke, one of the first to get the photo at FDNY headquarters. in Downtown Brooklyn.
“I just think it’s important to take care of as many people as possible.”
Between three locations – ward headquarters plus the fire academy on Randall’s Island and the EMS academy in Fort Totten in Queens – the FDNY can now inoculate about 450 members per day.
That number also includes EMS workers, who started receiving the vaccine last week.
The rollout came in light of a study conducted by the Uniformed Firefighters Association earlier this month that found more than half of smoke eaters would refuse the vaccine.
Union chairman Andy Ansbro – who said the reluctance was due in part to a “real parenting issue” about who needs the vaccine – was one of those who got the shot on Tuesday.
“Hopefully this will go a long way in getting the city and the country back on track,” he said.
Ansbro praised the department’s and the union’s recent efforts to discourage firefighters’ fears through information, and was cautiously optimistic that they appear to be working.
“The union had a Q&A with a virologist and we answered all the questions our members sent us. About two dozen members contacted me and said the work we have been doing has changed their mind, ”he said.
“At the moment it seems that thousands of members have signed up to get this and that’s very encouraging.”
The FDNY said on Tuesday that more than 1,000 city ambulance personnel have now been vaccinated.
There are approximately 4,400 FDNY ambulance personnel and 11,000 firefighters.
But while the Bravest queued, the Finest waited.
A memo circulated within the Detectives’ Endowment Association union on Monday said a scheduled launch for police on Tuesday was on hold due to supply issues with the state.
“The state has not released the vaccine in the amount necessary for the NYPD,” the memo reads in part.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea confirmed the delay during an extensive briefing Tuesday morning, noting that the department is “anxiously awaiting” their injections.
Union leaders slammed government bureaucracy over the delay.
“The lives of the police and the New Yorkers we serve are in grave danger due to the delay of the available COVID-19 vaccine for the NYPD,” DEA President Paul DiGiacomo said in a statement.
“Detectives have thousands of close contacts with the public every day as we continue to protect people, provide medical assistance and respond to calls for help,” he continued. “After the death of six detectives and the current rising virus numbers, DEA members need the vaccine before another family is tragically left behind – and they need it now.”
Forty-eight members of the NYPD have died of the coronavirus, according to the department.
Patrick Lynch, head of the Benevolent Police Association, agreed with DiGiacomo.
“Once again, politicians in Albany and City Hall are wasting time with bureaucratic gymnastics instead of looking at the reality on the ground,” he said in a statement. New York City police officers are not alone on the front lines. We cover every part of the front line: from hospitals and residential complexes to the corner store.
“We have more daily contact with New Yorkers than any other city agency,” Lynch continued. “We continue to insist that vaccines be made available to police officers as soon as possible.”
A spokesman for the State Department of Health said vaccines are underway for police, but priority groups – including primary care workers and nursing homes – are still being vaccinated.
“NYPD as first responders qualify in Phase 1b, that hasn’t changed, and any suggestion that we hold back from providing vaccines is blatantly false,” said Gary Holmes. “We are still in the middle of Phase 1a, which includes primary health workers, nursing homes and certain municipal health care facilities.
“Timing will depend on when the vaccine supply is available and we look forward to working with the NYPD and all emergency responders to operationalize the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.”
Because they are trained and certified to both fight fires and provide emergency medical services, firefighters are qualified for the first stage.
Shea stated earlier this month that vaccines would not be made mandatory for NYPD personnel, but later opened the door for them to potentially become mandatory.