The head of the union for firefighters in the country said he was concerned that its members would eventually be vaccinated due to the ‘lack of coordination and communication’ by the state.
Richard MacKinnon Jr., president of the union Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, said the state leaves the vaccinations of first responders to the local health council to have jakes vaccinated – and it ends with divergent results.
“There seems to be a lack of plan,” MacKinnon told the Herald on Tuesday. “It’s a common lack of coordination and communication.”
MacKinnon said he does not blame the health council, which in smaller towns simply does not have many staff and has already taxed too much. On the contrary, the state should take the reins and set up vaccination centers, he said – or train just a few of the yaks, many of whom are already EMTs or paramedics, and let them do it themselves.
“Massachusetts still did not provide any dates, times or vaccination sites,” the union tweeted Tuesday. “Most of our members are EMTs and paramedics, which enables us to give each other the vaccines.”
The COVID-19 Response Command Center said in a statement that the state is “actively working” with local health departments, local hospitals and other medical providers to find out the ability to vaccinate people – and to identify places where first respondents could be vaccinated, a spokesman said.
“First responders are being prioritized in Phase 1 of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan, and based on current estimates, the state plans to initiate vaccinations for police, fire and EMS,” said spokeswoman Kate Reilly. ‘The Command Center and the Executive Office for Public Safety are looking forward to this week’s meeting with first responders to investigate the plans to stand up for vaccinations. More information will be made available as this process progresses. ”
She said the state will publish an initial list of sites by the end of the month, and that more providers will be added once they identify capacity. Reilly said the state is actively searching for sites and identifying clinical partners to set up individuals for mass vaccinations, starting in early 2021.
MacKinnon, a firefighter in Whitman, said there are currently 805 of his union’s more than 12,000 members who have COVID-19, plus another 650 who are in quarantine. He said business was still on the rise.