Many L.A. cops and firefighters aren't vaccinated against COVID-19. Is this a public safety threat? [View all]

When COVID-19 vaccines became available in California, police officers, firefighters and other first responders got priority access, and potentially more.

There were Airbnb gift cards, bicycles and cameras. Cash raffles ranged from $20 to $1,000. Some prison healthcare workers were made eligible for cash prizes just for sitting through a 30-minute “Vaccination Education” training.

But despite the priority access and array of incentives, vaccination rates for police, fire and corrections agencies across L.A. and California have lagged well behind the state’s average for adult residents, according to a survey of agencies conducted by The Times.

While about 72% of adult Californians and 64% of Los Angeles residents 16 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, only about 51% of city firefighters and 52% of LAPD officers are at least partially vaccinated.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-06-19/vaccination-rates-lag-among-california-public-safety-workers-drawing-concern