Alberta police associations request to have frontline officers included in next wave of vaccine rollout

Police associations all over the province are asking the Alberta government to consider adding first responders to the next phase of the COVID-19 vaccine roll out. Bailey Nitti has that story.

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — They play a critical role on the frontlines of the pandemic, and need to be protected from the virus.

That message coming from the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police (AACP) and the Alberta Federation of Police Associations (AFPA) on Thursday as the request was made to have all frontline police officers in Alberta included in the next wave of vaccine rollouts in the province.

Police across Alberta say demands on them have increased significantly as they enforce public health orders and frequently are interacting with at-risk and vulnerable people, and they don’t have a choice to not respond to a call.

“For the most part, we don’t know who you’re dealing with on many occasions but police obviously don’t have the ability to say no, they have to go and they have to enforce or try and bring some calm into many of these situations,” said Edmonton’s Police Chief Dale McFee.

READ MORE: Edmonton police charge man after three hate-motivated attacks

McFee says while his officers are in great shape, the reason the call was put out was to help limit the spread.

“It’s one thing to be the members, it’ll be fine, they’re healthy, a lot of them are younger, but they absolutely could be carrying this virus to their families or other calls.”

McFee adds that the request is being made only for frontline officers, not all police officers, which would be about 4,000 shots total.

When it comes to some detachments across Alberta, a single positive test could put the whole station in limbo.

READ MORE: Crown intends to seek adult sentence in Calgary cold case homicide

“Sometimes there’s close to a whole detachment in isolation, for us, we’ve had ten to fifteen (officers) at a time, and we manage that but at the same time it’s a lot easier to manage if we get the frontlines vaccinated,” McFee said.

Paramedics across Alberta were included in Stage 2 of the vaccine rollout, whereas police and firefighters were not, and McFee is hoping this public statement could change that.

The AACP says it is willing to work with the government to come to a conclusion that will help keep its officers safe.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today