‘An insult’ that only 525 out of 15,000 gardaí vaccinated
HALF of the Kerry Garda division has been vaccinated against Covid-19, while in Cavan/Monaghan only ‘one or two’ have received the jab, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
It has become a location lottery whether or not gardaí are being given leftover vaccine after the Government removed the force from the vaccine priority list in recent weeks.
It was a move that has infuriated gardaí from rank and file to senior management.
A senior Garda source told the MoS
‘it is a joke’ that gardaí are being forced to depend on leftover vaccine and it is an ‘insult’ to gardaí who are out with a ‘begging bowl’.
The MoS has learned the Cork and Galway Garda divisions have also had a high number of officers vaccinated, while in parts of Dublin city the numbers remain small. Earlier this month, around 100 gardaí from Clare and Limerick, were given leftover vaccines after being contacted by the HSE, while in Galway, gardaí are being given vaccine when there is a surplus.
This week more than 500 officers were vaccinated following a request from Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. They included gardaí at Dublin Airport and Santry Garda Station who are policing mandatory hotel quarantining, the Garda National Immigration Bureau and public order units in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.
The MoS asked the Garda press office how many gardaí had been vaccinated in total with either allocated or surplus vaccine. A spokesman said 525 gardaí had been vaccinated following a request from Commissioner Harris, adding that there was ‘no further information available’.
Late last month the chief administrative officer at Garda HQ issued a circular telling gardaí they ‘may accept surplus vaccines offered by the Health Service Executive’.
The move was welcomed by members, who feel Garda management have been ‘very supportive’ on the vaccine issue but conversely there was widespread anger at the Government.
One source said: ‘It’s a drop in the ocean. There are 15,000 gardaí and you need a minimum of 8,000 to 10,000 vaccinated for operations. The numbers of those vaccinated is very, very small and it is causing a lot of anger.
‘Garda management are very frustrated about it and gardaí on the ground are angry. There will be a Garda backlash.’
Another source said gardaí realistically cannot practice social distancing in a lot of their work.
A Garda spokesman told the MoS: ‘The rollout and administration of any particular Covid-19 vaccine is a matter for the HSE.’