Staffordshire Police Federation chair Phil Jones says he is pleased to hear the Government is listening to calls for police officers to be prioritised as the Covid-19 vaccine rolls out.
His comments come after Home Secretary Priti Patel told LBC of her efforts to make police officers a priority over the coming weeks.
She said that with Health Secretary Matt Hancock “100 per cent” supporting her, she had told police partners to get ready for when the jab is made available.
“It is great to hear that the Government is listening to us,” said Phil, “For the Home Secretary to say she is pushing for officers to be prioritised when it comes to getting the vaccine is definitely a step in the right direction.”
The Home Secretary told Nick Ferrari on LBC that she had been working with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and Mr Hancock to push policing, firefighters and teachers when it comes to getting the vaccine.
“Of course, we appreciate that older people and the vulnerable, along with frontline workers, need to be given first priority but the police cannot be forgotten about,” added Phil.
“At the moment, officers will be allocated the jab according to their age bracket and that isn’t good enough. Officers risk not only their own health every day to protect the public, but their family’s health too.
“Due to the nature of the job, it proves difficult to remain socially distanced at all times, which means an officer could pick up the virus quite easily. This could mean them getting ill, taking the virus back into their homes or inadvertently passing it on to other people they come into contact with in the course of their duties.”
The Home Secretary’s comments come after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick yesterday told LBC she was “baffled” as to why officers were not nearer the front of the queue for the jab.
National Federation chair John Apter has also been calling for police officers to be prioritised in the vaccine roll-out programme.
