VIDEO: Among one of the first to be vaccinated for COVID-19 in Arizona will be the Scottsdale Fire Department chief.
He's using his leadership position to urge all other first responders to get the vaccine ASAP, saying it's their duty to protect and serve and this can only make their jobs safer for both themselves and those they respond to.
Firefighters are sometimes the first contact some COVID-19 patients have when they're taken to the hospital, so it puts firefighters at huge risk of exposure on the job.
Scottsdale Fire Chief Tom Shannon said if they have the opportunity to get the vaccine, they should, and plans to set the example on Thursday. "We really feel like it's important for me to set a tone," Shannon said. "We're sworn to serve and sworn to do everything we can in our power to protect, so if there's something we can do to ourselves to make ourselves ready and healthier, we should do that in my view."