‘Do the right thing’ over priority access to vaccines, says PFEW chair

John Apter said despite weeks of high-level lobbying over the issue by the PFEW and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) the Government has yet to announce a decision.

He has now written directly to NPCC chair Martin Hewitt requesting that new and urgent representations are made directly to the Government so that rank and file officers are “given the protection they deserve”.

Mr Apter said: “It’s time for the Prime Minister to do the right thing for police officers in the thick of this pandemic. I am calling on him to back my colleagues in their time of need as more are absent from work after contracting the virus or having to self-isolate.

“We’ve lobbied the NPCC who have raised this directly with government. Despite positive responses no formal decision has been made, and we now need immediate government action. That’s why the Prime Minister must make a decision – does he support police officers being prioritised for the Covid vaccine or not?”

He added: “This is certainly not about jumping the queue in front of the most vulnerable members of society or those on the NHS front line. It’s about ensuring policing is resilient enough to cope with the demands of the pandemic and that my colleagues can continue to support the public during these exceptional times.”

In his letter, Mr Apter stressed the PFEW’s full support for the lobbying and wrote that he valued NPCC’s help and understanding on the “vitally important issue”.

However, he said: “If we expect police officers to continue to police in the way that we do then it’s essential they are given the protection they deserve.

“Getting hands on and working in close contact with members of the public is often unavoidable. This creates a risk, not only for our members and the public they are dealing with, but also for the officers’ families.

“I formally request that the NPCC makes representations to ensure that police officers are prioritised as part of the Covid vaccine programme.”

A NPCC spokesperson said: “The emergency services regularly engage with members of the public, as do our officers, staff and volunteers, who have all worked extremely hard since the start of the pandemic to keep our communities safe.

“We understand the urgency around ensuring frontline officers and those in critical roles are vaccinated as soon as possible.

“We have expressed these concerns directly to the Government and work is underway to find a solution once those who are currently in the vulnerable group have been vaccinated.”