Click to enlarge Despite a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Arizona, vaccination rates are lagging among the staff of several law enforcement agencies in the Phoenix area. Others don’t even track the data. Of all the law enforcement agencies in Maricopa County that the Phoenix New Times contacted, only four disclosed how many of their employees had received COVID-19 vaccinations: the Phoenix Police, Gilbert Police, Buckeye Police, and Maricopa County Sheriffs Office (MCSO). Goodyear City officials said they were working to get the numbers, while the rest either didn’t respond or said they didn’t track employees’ vaccination rates. Here’s what the numbers look like on Friday, August 27th. Phoenix Police Department: According to Dan Wilson, a spokesman for the city of Phoenix, around 34 percent of the Phoenix Police Department staff have been vaccinated. Wilson wrote in an email that 1,373 of the 3,954 department staff had provided evidence of vaccination. Vaccinated department employees received a “$ 75 security prize” and potential prizes in a sweepstakes. (Prizes include airline tickets and a Phoenix Suns jersey signed by star player Devin Booker.) Related Stories I Support Local Community Journalism Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of the New Times free. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office: Approximately 36 percent of MCSO employees have been vaccinated. Norma Gutierrez-Deorta, a spokeswoman for MCSO, wrote in an email that 1,187 of 3,211 employees were fully vaccinated. Gilbert Police Department: Only 31 percent of the Gilbert Police Department were vaccinated – although a department spokeswoman Brenda Carrasco noted that the figure only includes officers vaccinated through Gilbert-sponsored clinics. Buckeye Police Department: According to Bob Sanders, a spokesman for the department, Buckeye is doing much better with a vaccination rate of 50 percent among his 144 employees. Sanders added that the town of Buckeye is not offering any incentives for the department to vaccinate. Overall, law enforcement rates are lagging behind Maricopa County’s vaccination rates. According to the district, over 62 percent of all adults in the district over the age of 18 had received at least one vaccine dose by August 24. Nationwide, 47 percent of the population are fully vaccinated, 56 percent of Arizonans have received at least one vaccination. Perhaps unsurprisingly, local law enforcement agencies also fare poorly compared to public safety agencies in places like New York, where about 47 percent of all New York police officers have been vaccinated, according to the New York Times. The fact that large local law enforcement agencies are reporting worse vaccination statistics than Maricopa County or the state of Arizona as a whole, both of which lag behind the U.S. national vaccination rate, is worrying, say some health and legal experts, due to the human contact that is inherent in the police force. “People who don’t get vaccinated are not only putting themselves at risk, but others too,” says Sharona Hoffman, professor of law and bioethics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. “Police is a job where you really have the good of the community in your hand.” “They directly threaten the health and well-being of children and anyone else who is not vaccinated,” added Hoffman. “That really goes against the spirit of the job.” “Obviously something is wrong with the law enforcement worldview that is different from that of the general population [Arizona’s] Adult vaccination rates are bad enough, but that is extremely bad, ”said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, regarding vaccination rates for the Phoenix Police Department and the MCSO. “There is now an approved vaccine. This is a workforce issue. Part of your mission in the community is to lead by example. It is your duty as a civil servant not to infect others. “When asked if the City of Phoenix was concerned that vaccination rates were falling behind its employees, Wilson said,” The city’s leadership has been consistent in its message to employees about vaccinations So, Carrasco pointed out the fact that the Gilbert Police Department figures do not include employees vaccinated in locations other than city-sponsored clinics. Gutierrez-Deorta wrote in an E -Mail that Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone “has repeatedly and strongly encouraged all” staff to get vaccinated. ” In a statement to the New Times, Michael “Britt” London, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the union that represents ordinary Phoenix police officers, evaded direct questions about low vaccination rates in the US. “It’s important to note that Phoenix City vaccination counts reflect those who have volunteered. ” Information, “said London.” The decision to be vaccinated is up to each and every officer and we respect the right of every officer to make that choice. “Meanwhile, many other regional law enforcement agencies have no idea how many of their employees are vaccinated. These agencies include the Chandler Police Department, the Tempe Police Department, and the Glendale Police Department. Charles Trapani, a spokesman for the Mesa Police Department, alleged in an email that the department was under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Didn’t track internal vaccination rates as of 1996. However, HIPAA only mandates that certain entities such as health care providers, insurers, and affiliates withhold medical information, according to the Department of Health. Hoffman, the law and bioethics professor, said the HIPAA apology was incorrect : “She [law enforcement agencies] are not health care providers or insurers, but act as employers in this context. HIPAA has nothing to do with it. “When Trapani was presented with information about what HIPAA was all about, Trapani replied that he was looking for” an answer from my legal department. ” [team] to clarify why we do not pursue vaccinated employees. ”
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