400 police off icers given ‘leftover’ jabs
MORE than 400 police officers have been given their first dose of the Covid vaccine using leftover jabs that would otherwise have gone in the bin.
Community officers, armed police and backroom staff have all taken up the offer of a last-minute vaccination from local NHS health boards.
At a Scottish Police Authority meeting on Wednesday, Chief Constable Iain Livingstone welcomed the initiative.
He said: ‘Police Scotland continues to engage with the Scottish Government in respect of the development and rollout of the national Covid-19 vaccine. Should vaccination become available on a sectoral basis, we are well placed to enable our people to receive it.’
But he added: ‘In recent weeks, local health boards have offered surplus vaccines, which would otherwise be wasted, to frontline officers and staff.
‘We welcome this approach, and have implemented processes to co-ordinate and manage this effectively. By Monday,
February 15, more than 400 officers and staff had received the first dose of the vaccination through such arrangements.’
The move comes amid serious concerns about when frontline officers and staff will get the vaccine.
Mr Livingstone has been lobbying for police officers to be treated as a priority because of fears they are virus ‘super spreaders’.
He has previously said it is ‘imperative’ for officers and civilian staff to be kept safe as they work to uphold coronavirus laws. Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has said that offering police officers the vaccine as soon as possible is a ‘no-brainer’.
Although police are still not on the priority list for those who can receive a vaccination, the new agreement between NHS health boards and the force will continue.
As of yesterday morning, 1,570,153 people in Scotland had received their first dose of a vaccine, up 27,224 since Friday. There were 18 deaths and 525 positive tests in the previous 24 hours.