‘Incredible’ that officers not a priority in Covid-19 vaccination programme, says MPF

MPF chair Ken Marsh said police officers are in the middle of keeping people safe from Covid-19 – at no small degree of risk to themselves and their families – “and yet amazingly they are not in the queue for the vaccine”.

While frontline health and social care workers are second in the Government’s published priority list for the vaccine roll-out, Mr Marsh said police officers do not feature at all on the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

His concerns were heightened this weekend after the Government changed London to the new ‘Tier 4’, which he fears could cause more confrontation with a frustrated public as Christmas approaches.

Responding to the announcement, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) says at “this critical moment for the city” patrols will be prioritised in high footfall areas of the capital as well as those areas of London were the virus is spreading rapidly.

“We have heard no mention of police officers being on the list to be vaccinated as soon as possible. There’s been no discussion whatsoever around my colleagues. It’s incredible, and sadly shows what they think of us,” said Mr Marsh.

“How well has this been thought out? We are your protectors. We are out there on the front line. We could be super spreaders because our officers travel and provide mutual aid across the country. It’s like we don’t exist. It’s amazing.”

He added: “We have seen just this past weekend with protests still being allowed – and our with day-to-day policing business – officers continue to come into close contact with people who could be carrying coronavirus.

“There’s no working from home for the majority of our colleagues.”

According to the Government, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation “does not advise further prioritisation by occupation during the first phase of the [vaccination] programme”, said Mr Marsh.

It adds: “Occupational prioritisation could form part of a second phase of the programme, which would include healthy individuals from 16 years of age up to 50 years of age, subject to consideration of the latest data on vaccine safety and effectiveness.”

“My brave colleagues are human beings. They have families, they have loved ones, they have partners. They go home to them the same as everyone else does,” said Mr Marsh.

“It beggars belief that you want us to be put into this position where we are out there on front line keeping the public safe from Covid-19 and yet we are not even in the consideration to be provided the protection from the varying vaccines.

“We also have to bear in mind that the thin blue line is getting thinner and thinner. We have more officers off now than we’ve had throughout this pandemic, from Covid-19 and from isolation.

“Latest data shows some 600 officers are either currently off sick with Covid-19 or needing to isolate – these numbers are going up rapidly now to the point that I fear that if this continues, we will not be able to provide the service to the public that they expect.

“We must be given a level of priority when the Covid-19 vaccine is more widely rolled out.”

As London enters Tier 4, the MPS says teams will continue to engage first, hoping to explain the rules to Londoners and how they can keep themselves and their families safe.

“At this critical moment for the city, officers across London will pay particular attention to those groups who have wilfully ignored the rules, putting communities and lives at risk,” it added.

MPS Commander Alex Murray said: “I know Londoners will be deeply saddened by the news that the planned relaxation of the rules over the Christmas period has been scrapped. The news on the virus spread is stark and deeply concerning, and we must all now take immediate action to prevent the spread by staying at home and keeping ourselves safe.”

And he warned: “Across the city, officers will be deployed to take action against those people whose selfish action risks jeopardising the health of Londoners. Likewise, we will continue our joint enforcement with London’s 32 local authorities – clamping down on those businesses that also flout the rules and put health at risk.

“Our fight against the virus is not over. The rules are very clear and our collective actions in the next two weeks will have a direct impact on how quickly our city will recover. If people ignore these new rules, make reckless decisions that risk lives, I make no apology for the subsequent enforcement action that will follow.”