STICKING POINT
An “education issue” is partly to blame for a new poll that found most FDNY firefighters plan to skip the coronavirus vaccine, with some who have already had the bug thinking they don’t need the shot, a union head said on Sunday.
“Thirty-five percent of our members have already been infected, and they’re under the impression that they have antibodies that protect them,” Andy Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, said in a press briefing outside the headquarters of Engine Co. 3, Ladder Co. 12 in Chelsea.
A union poll of 2,053 firefighters — about a quarter of the UFA’s membership — found that 55 percent said they would refuse to take the vaccine once it becomes available, The Post exclusively reported on Saturday.
Ansbro said on Sunday that there was a significant overlap between that figure and the 35 percent of UFA members who have already had the coronavirus and may believe that they can’t be reinfected.
“When you take the 35 percent, the people that actually don’t want it is quite lower,” he said.
“Some think they don’t actually need it. So there’s a real education issue that we need to overcome.”
Evidence has shown that it is possible to contract the coronavirus multiple times.
Ansbro added that some members have misgivings about the Pfizer vaccine — which is awaiting approval by the federal Food and Drug Administration — while some want to make sure other people are vaccinated first.
“There are always going to be people that don’t want to be on the front line of a vaccination, and that is their right,” he said.
“We have members that would rather have someone else have it than them. They don’t want to be on the front of the line. But the department needs them to be on the front of the line. We need them to be on the front of the line.”
Ansbro said that he has not seen a reduction in public trust of the FDNY amid the pandemic, and that he does anticipate that changing even if the poll holds true.
“I don’t think anyone failed to call us in the last eight months,” he said. “If your house is on fire, you’re not exactly going to worry about a virus.”
“We have a steady supply of [personal protective equipment], and if a member has symptoms, they don’t go to work,” he said.
Ansbro, who has stated that he intends to get the vaccine, said the UFA would work with the FDNY to urge members to get the shot.
“We’re going to encourage our department members to get it, and we’re going to work with the department to encourage our members to get it,” he said.
“But in the end, it’s their choice.”