Tampa Bay’s first responders can get the vaccine early. Do they take it?

Florida’s first COVID-19 vaccine has landed in Tampa Bay this week and is ready to be distributed to those who the public health authorities first deem necessary.

Millions of health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities are first vaccinated. Next will be an essential workerIncludes firefighters, paramedics, and police officers.

But when it’s their turn, will Tampa Bay’s first responders be shot?

A significant number of firefighters and police officers said they were uninterested or undecided, according to a survey of local fire and police stations in recent weeks.

In Pinellas County, 549 EMTs and EMTs (about 40% of 1,380 respondents) working at the county’s fire department and ambulance company said they did not want to be vaccinated. Another 28 percent, or 385, said they were undecided.

In other words, the number of people who wanted the vaccine (32 percent, or 446) was a minority.

Law enforcement investigations have shown similar results. At the St. Petersburg police, about one-third of the 472 respondents answered “yes.” However, 35% answered “no” and 31% were undecided, about two-thirds of the respondents.

The findings raise questions about the potential risks to the general public and the first responders themselves if many refuse to be vaccinated. The risk is especially high for the first respondents whose work involves close contact with each other and the general public. Vaccine hesitation also underscores the major hurdles the country faces as it receives the largest vaccination effort in US history.

“I’m worried,” said Jay Wolfson, a public health expert at the University of South Florida. “The virus doesn’t change. The longer you spend with a lot of people, the more likely someone will get it.

“Ultimately, a cascade into immune-risk and high-risk populations is created.”

However, fire departments and police officials warned against over-reading the investigation, noting that it was distributed weeks before the Food and Drug Administration approved the first vaccine for emergency use on December 11.

They expressed optimism that more people would participate in vaccination as more information became available and the number of vaccinations increased.

Jonathan Basquez, chairman of the St. Petersburg Police Dog Officer of the San Coast Police Charity Association, said of the findings of his institution, “I will go to Jesus if more information is available. I will pay the salary that I will. “

Vaccination hesitation goes beyond the first responder. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released Tuesday, about a quarter of the general public will probably or will not be vaccinated, even if scientists consider it safe for free. Approximately one-third of respondents identified as key workers and 29% of those working in the medical setting fall into this category.

Skepticism outweighs confidence in vaccines at other Bay Area institutions. In a survey of 261 employees of the Clearwater Police, 32%, or 84, answered “yes” to the vaccine. However, 39% answered “no” and 28% were undecided.

More than half (about 60 percent) of the 2,858 Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office employees who responded to the agency’s survey said they did not want to be vaccinated, and the rest said they did. The undecided person had no choice.

The survey does not elaborate on why first responders responded in their way. However, agency leaders said they heard several reasons from employees along the civilian segment who are hesitant about vaccines.

They include concerns about potential side effects and the rate at which the vaccine was developed. Wolfson added that politicization and misinformation about viruses and vaccines probably also played a role.

These studies were also conducted weeks before major advances in vaccine development. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved last week and some others are nearing completion. The Moderna vaccine will be approved this week.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the side effects of the vaccine are minor. Health experts say that the rate at which vaccines are developed is due to the amount of resources invested to create the vaccine during technological advances and pandemics.

Dr. Angus Jameson, Medical Director of Pinellas County Emergency Medical Services, said: “Conclusion based on what I know: I need to get this vaccine.”

Jameson said he was reviewing clinical trial data and looking at vaccines in scientific journals. He held several live video chats with Pinellas Fire Department employees to get as much information as possible so that they could make informed decisions.

The chief believes that firefighters answered “yes” at the fire department, which has the highest percentage of employees willing to be vaccinated, because staff have access to the latest information.

The Seminole and Safety Harbor fire departments answered “yes” at 43% and 44%, respectively. Authority leaders said they provided “almost too much” information about viruses and vaccines, said Heather Burford, Seminole Fire Rescue Commander.

“As a system … we need to make information accessible to everyone,” said Josh Stephanchich, Fire Chief of Safety Harbor, citing Jameson’s video discussion as a prime example. did.

“They hear from our local experts and see our local leaders believe it, step into it, get vaccines and share information-it’s necessary. I think. “

Burford said the first responder was “I was very lucky to be vaccinated as the first one. I don’t want to see it wasted, but everyone has the opportunity to make their own decisions. I understand that there is. “

Both she and Stefancic said they would be vaccinated when the vaccine became available. So did the police chiefs in St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa.

“I’m probably going to shoot it, so the cops make sure I’m not afraid,” said Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan. His agency is investigating the employee.

The St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Team was one of the lowest percentage of “yes” responses in all published surveys, accounting for only 20 percent of the 285 respondents. About 56% answered “no” and a quarter were undecided.

Rescue Division Chief Ian Womack emphasized that the survey was distributed too early to predict what the first respondent would choose in the coming weeks. He said he wasn’t worried about the outcome of his institution, as vaccines aren’t the only tool to prevent the spread of the virus.

Firefighters in St. Petersburg should wear masks if they cannot keep a social distance around their colleagues or while riding a fire engine.

When interacting with the general public, firefighters and healthcare professionals wear facial respiratory or surgical grade N95 masks. According to Womak, cases of COVID-19 identified among the general public cannot be traced back to interactions with fire department employees. He added that he was “obsessed” with vaccination himself, but was waiting for more information to come out before making a definitive decision.

The rules for personal protective equipment vary from police officer to police officer, and most departments leave it up to individual police officers to decide when to wear a mask. Police chiefs responded to fire department leaders that they expect more first responders to choose the vaccine as more people are vaccinated and it becomes more widely accepted. Did.

“This is one of those fear factors,” said Clearwater Police Chief Daniel Slaughter. receiving. “

Staff writer Tony Marello contributed to this report.

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