olice officers and firefighters often find themselves on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic but they may not be at the front of the line to get vaccinated against the virus.
Vaccine distribution guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that health care personnel and long-term care facility residents are in the first tier of phase one vaccination, while first responders like police and firefighters aren’t until the second tier.
Rich MacKinnon, the President of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts thinks it's important for public safety that firefighters across the state are included in the first tier.
“It’s very important to get our firefighters across the state vaccinated, not only for the firefighters and their safety and the safety of their families, but for the safety of the public,” he said.