NYPD faces delays in getting COVID vaccine, union boss blasts politicians

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The NYPD, despite having been scheduled to receive the COVID vaccine this week, will have to wait to get it, Commissioner Dermot Shea said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters at One Police Plaza on Tuesday, the city’s top cop told reporters that the department is "relying on state and city department of health to advise us when we’re in line."

NYPD sign with logo on police patrol car in New York City.   (NYPD)

"We certainly appreciate that everyone wants to get this and we have to wait for our fair turn in line and that’s what we’re doing," Shea said. "But we’re anxiously awaiting it and want it as soon as possible." 

A memo that circulated within the Detectives Endowment Association union on Monday and obtained by the New York Post said the delay had to do with issues with the supply chain.

"The state has not released the vaccine in the quantity needed for the NYPD," reads a part of the memo. "We’ve made numerous attempts to get updated information, and when we get further word on its availability, we will immediately keep our members apprised of the new date and the method of distribution."

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Asked about the plan to get the vaccine to members of the NYPD, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city’s priority right now is "frontline health care workers and on folks in nursing homes and who work in nursing homes."

"But I want to see us get to our first responders as quickly as possible," de Blasio said. "So, we’re waiting for that state guidance to be clarified. And as soon as it is, we’ll get that effort underway."

Patrick Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, blasted the delay, accusing "politicians in Albany and City Hall" of "wasting time with bureaucratic gymnastics instead of looking at the reality on the ground."

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"New York City police officers aren’t just on the front line. We cover every part of the front line: from hospitals and housing complexes to the corner store," Lynch said in a statement. "We have more daily contact with New Yorkers than any other city agency. We are continuing to press for vaccines to be made available to police officers as soon as possible."