Police officers left out of Texas' next round of COVID-19 vaccinations
AUSTIN, Texas - Breaking from CDC guidance, the State of Texas Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel chose to prioritize people over 65 and those with underlying medical conditions in the next round of COVID-19 vaccines.
That means groups like police officers, corrections officers, teachers, grocery store workers, and more have been bumped down the list.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said the decision was made because it will help keep the most vulnerable people safe. However, law enforcement officers said they are one of the most likely groups to get the virus, so it's disappointing that they are not being protected.
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"We're getting run over right now with COVID in the police department," said Austin Police Association president Ken Casaday.
The number of Austin Police officers infected by coronavirus is growing every day. "We've had, from what I understand, over 115 officers have it so far. And I do know that, right now, we're averaging about, unfortunately, two to three new cases a day over the last week," Casaday said.
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Other parts of the state have been in a similar situation. In fact, Texas' largest police union, CLEAT, said more than 70 officers in the state lost their lives after contracting COVID-19. It's easy to see why the profession has been hit especially hard.
"We go into people's homes and we go into homeless shelters, I mean I can go on and on and on. Every day we're around people that have COVID and those officers are still doing their job," said Casaday.
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The high exposure risk of officers is why the CDC included them in their definition of frontline essential workers and recommended they be offered a COVID-19 vaccine in group 1B. That would make them next in line following frontline healthcare workers and those in long term care facilities.
However, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced the state has other plans.
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"It's disappointing. You know, we're out there every day, working our butts off and trying to make sure the community is safe. And now they want to say, 'police officers need to wait in line,'" Casaday said.
Several EMS workers and firefighters in Austin have already started receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Casaday was also given his first dose because he sometimes works security at a local hospital.
"So around the 17th of January, I'll go back for my second dose," said Casaday.
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However, DSHS said more than 70 percent of COVID-19 deaths in the state were people 65 and older and those with certain medical conditions who are at greater risk of hospitalization and death. So group 1B in Texas will now focus on those over 65 and anyone over 16 who has a chronic medical condition or is pregnant.
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In a statement, CLEAT executive director Charley Wilkison writes, "This is a state where COVID law enforcement deaths are not presumptive. We should not be surprised that cops would come last when it’s time for the vaccine. Just like they weren’t given PPE until it was too late. That’s what the Back the Blue Pledge really meant I guess."
DSHS is still hashing out the details for group 1C and so on. Already, some smaller Texas counties have offered vaccines to law enforcement when hospitals have had leftover doses.