They were among the first given access to the COVID-19 vaccine. How many first responders got it? – WAVY.com

YORK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) Every day,police officers, firefighters and paramedics accept some riskas theyservethe public.

During the pandemic, contracting COVID-19 added to potential dangers on the job, so when a vaccine became available, first responders were among the first to qualify.

As the United States approaches one year from the time the first shots were administered, 10 On Your Side found the rate of vaccinationvariesdrasticallyamong Hampton Roads public safety and fire departmentsin cities and counties that collected the information.

On the Southside, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach are not collecting information on the vaccine status of any city staff.

The lowest in the region, Suffolk Fire & Rescue and Portsmouth police both have less than 50% of their members vaccinated.

Norfolk combined its police and fire department data, reporting 66% of staff vaccinated.

Hampton and Newport News fire departments are 80% vaccinated, and both cities police departments arealso near that figure.

PERCENT OF STAFF VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19

For a resident dialing 911 on the upper Virginia Peninsula, theres an evenhigherchance the responding firefighter or police officer will be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Williamsburgs fire and police departments take the top spots, with more than 90% of personnel vaccinated.

In James City County, 79% of firefighters and 68% of police officersgot the shot.

Similarly, in York County, the percent of vaccinated firefighters is higher than law enforcement.Eighty-four percent of the York County Fire & Life Safety divisiongot the vaccine, compared to73% ofthe countysheriffs office.

Fire Capt. Tyler Reid said he got the vaccine as soon as it was available to him, then became a vaccinator, helping others in the community get the shot.

I think there was a lot of excitementon the floor with the firefighters, Reid said. My wife is immune-compromised and I know a lot of guys I work with on the shift are in that same boat, so we were definitely ready to get the vaccine.

Still, the department had to deal with breakthrough infections and maintain strict safety protocols as the Delta variant began to surge, according to York County Fire ChiefStephen Kopczynski.

Its constantly on my mind,Kopczynski said.We wanted to do everything we couldto be able to provide that service to the public while keeping our personnel safe.

In York County, a vaccine mandate has not been enforced, but Reid said he is comfortable working among his unvaccinated colleagues because of the departments dedication to wearing proper personal protective equipment and other risk mitigation factors.

I would love to see the department get to 100% vaccinated, he said. Its a personal decision that I made and Id like to see others make it as well. I think the evidence is clear that itdefinitely reducesyour risk.

Kopczynski said he is not surprised to see around 16% of his crew refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

Every year, we provide our personnel the opportunity to get the flu vaccine. Some folks decide not to get it, he said.

Kopczynski would not say if he thought a mandate should be enforced but said if it did happen, it would be a county-level decision.

Time helps us quite a bit, things like the formal authorization of the Pfizer vaccine,as an example, Kopczynski said. We believe through education of our folks we will gain further acceptance of the vaccine.

Get the free WAVY News App, available for download in the App Store and Google Play, to stay up to date with all your local news, weather and sports, live newscasts and other live events.

The rest is here:

They were among the first given access to the COVID-19 vaccine. How many first responders got it? - WAVY.com