Calls for police officers to get priority access to vaccine on Yorkshire Coast
There is a call for police officers on the Yorkshire Coast to get priority access to Covid vaccines.
There is a call for police officers on the Yorkshire Coast to get priority access to Covid vaccines.
The National Police Federation says it is because of the increased risks they face during lockdown.
Rob Bowles, Chair of the North Yorkshire branch, said:
"It's born out of the realisation that our officers have selflessly put themselves in harms way; and also put their families at risk for some time whilst policing Covid-19 regulations and policing during the pandemic."
"It's just a recognition of the additional risk that police officers face and also a recognition of the fact that we are an integral part of policing during the lockdown. We are an integral part of protecting the national health service and the public.
"I'd like to emphasize really that this isn't a plea to be placed ahead of the queue for vulnerable or elderly people or even frontline members and staff in the national health service.
"We have up to 15% of police officers at the moment who are off work either through contracting Covid-19 or through self-isolation. So we are having a significant reduction in the number of officers that are available to do day-to-day policing."