Barely Half Of LA'S Firefighters Opted To Get COVID-19 Vaccine

LOS ANGELES, CA — Only 54% of the Los Angeles Fire Department's personnel have so far been inoculated against the coronavirus even though the entire department has had access to the vaccine since December, officials said Monday. That means nearly half of the frontline department's employees passed on the vaccination period during the deadliest month of the pandemic for various reasons.

Officials couldn't explain the crews' reluctance to get the shots. In some cases, staffers couldn't get the shot if they were quarantining due to a COVID-19 infection. The city released the data Monday just days after the department issued a statement confirming there have been four sown and two civilian employee deaths due to COVID-19. Local, state, and federal health officials are urging all people eligible to be vaccinated to get the shot to help bring about herd immunity. Widespread immunity to the disease is considered essential to end the pandemic and counter the ongoing threat that the coronavirus will mutate.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, 1,842 of the city's 3,400 firefighters have received the vaccine.

Employees are encouraged but not required to get the vaccine. Many companies have already announced incentives to encourage their employees to get vaccinated. Amtrak, for example, has said it will keep employees on the clock when they get vaccinated and allow for sick time if the side-effects prove to be harsh.

In December, Los Angeles heralded the opportunity to vaccinate "virtually everybody" at the fire department, Mayor Eric Garcetti said. A survey taken in December found that nine out of ten employees planned to get the shot, according to the mayor. The vaccine was offered to all firefighters over a two week period.

LAFD spokesman David Ortiz was asked Monday about the lower-than-expected turnout.

"We are a reflection of our society, and so, that's the same question you could pose to the general public, why people who are eligible are not getting the vaccine," Ortiz told City News Service. "I would assume they have their own personal reasons."

First doses of the Moderna vaccine remain available at designated fire stations for firefighters who want it. Second doses are also being administered to firefighters, and 933 had received both doses as of Monday, Ortiz said.

"Our firefighters are on the front lines of the fight against COVID- 19 every day, and the Mayor strongly urges any firefighter who hasn't been vaccinated to take the shot as soon as possible," Garcetti's Deputy Communications Director Alex Comisar said in a statement.

According to Ortiz, 865 sworn members of the fire department have tested positive since the pandemic began. As of Thursday, 22 firefighters are in isolation with the virus, and 45 members who previously tested positive are no longer in quarantine but have not returned to work, Ortiz said.

City News Service contributed to this report.