Local police federations call for Covid-19 vaccine priority
The Health Secretary said this week officers won't be vaccinated until after groups 1-9
Both Norfolk and Suffolk's Police Federations have joined all other branches across England and Wales in calling for frontline officers to be prioritised for the Covid-19 vaccine.
It's after Matt Hancock said they would have to wait until all nine priority groups were vaccinated before they are considered for the jabs.
Andy Symonds, Chair of Norfolk Police Federation, said he and his colleagues feel "angry, frustrated and let down".
He said: "We give them masks, we give them body armor to protect them from being stabbed, we give them batons, we give them tasers to protect themselves and the community. But, we have this vaccine and the Government are refusing at this stage to prioritise officers to be protected."
Andy was clear he doesn't want officers to be put before the most vulnerable groups, but instead to be considered after groups 1-4 have received the first phase of jabs.
He added: "We have around 124,000 police officers in England and Wales. It would take a few hours to vaccinate my colleagues. These are the men and women who are putting themselves and their families at risk and have done since the start of this pandemic.
"They do so as they believe in protecting the communities they serve. However now we have vaccines that offer protection then it is incumbent on this Government to in turn protect these men and women who have gone above and beyond during this last year."
During the press conference on 8 February, Matt Hancock thanked officers for their work during the pandemic.