Police prioritised for spare Covid vaccines under local NHS deals

Police officers are being prioritised for spare Covid vaccines under local deals with the NHS to avoid doses being wasted.

At least five regions or counties have agreements with forces in which police are contacted at the end of the day so that on-duty front line officers to be vaccinated if there are spare jabs that cannot be stored overnight.

About 500 officers in West Yorkshire have received doses, with similar arrangements operating in the West Midlands, Sussex and Lincolnshire.

This week, the Metropolitan Police overturned a ban on its officers receiving spare vaccines and has agreed with NHS London that officers can be inoculated if there are doses available at the end of the day. However, it remains the preference to vaccinate those in the top four priority groups.

Craig Grandison, of the West Yorkshire Police Federation, said: "If this system was replicated across all parts of the country, I'm sure many more officers could be vaccinated very quickly."

The moves come as ministers consider plans to prioritise police, firefighters and teachers. Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, this week told the key workers to "get ready" for their jabs. She is pressing for police to be prioritised in the second phase of the vaccination programme after all over-50s, vulnerable groups and NHS and care workers in the nine first phase groups have been inoculated.

Mr Grandison said: "Whilst I appreciate this may not be simple, police officers are but a small number of 130,000 in a population of over 65 million, and prioritising those cannot be that difficult.

"We are the ones that face the public day by day, we are the ones that go forward when no one else can do. We deal with those that deny the very existence of the virus the country is battling. In West Yorkshire, we are lucky to have good relationships with our NHS partners and, with the support of our chief constable, over 500 of our officers and staff have so far received spare vaccines at short notice."

Amid growing controversy over the potential postcode lottery of vaccinations, the NHS is moving to put first phase priority people on the reserve list for spare jabs.

West Midlands Police said: "A number of police officers have been approached and offered unsolicited vaccinations which would otherwise have been disposed of at the end of the day at various vaccine sessions. These are officers in key frontline roles who have continued to keep our communities safe throughout the pandemic.

"This has been a pragmatic approach to unforeseen circumstances, but we understand that partners are now working to ensure additional members of the community sitting within the first four priority groups are on standby should such circumstances arise in the future."

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the Police Federation have pushed for officers to be prioritised in the next round.

Ms Patel said: "There is a lot of work taking place. You know my passion for police officers, and it's not just police officers, it's fire officers as well. They are all on the front line, enforcing coronavirus legislation. We have the joint committee on vaccines and immunisation that are working with us on making sure we can push police officers, fire, teachers and others on the front line when it comes to getting the vaccine."

A spokeswoman for NHS London said: “The NHS in London is following the national rules on offering the vaccine to the highest risk groups defined by the JCVI, and it is incorrect to say that there is an local agreement with the police to diverge from this."