Law enforcement wants vaccine prioritization in San Mateo County

The SMCPCSA said members can’t social distance while performing public, emergency and medical services, putting law enforcement at risk. Potential exposure can often lead to quarantine affecting staffing, and there have been two instances of COVID-19 exposures in San Mateo County when the Sheriff’s Office had to provide personnel to help with policy agency staffing, according to the letter.

San Mateo County last week began vaccinating, as supplies allow, people aged 65 and older in Phase 1B. Law enforcement falls under Phase 1B, as well as sector populations in education and child care, emergency services, food and agriculture. However, the county is currently directing and focusing the limited supply of vaccines to health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities and residents aged 65 and older, which aligns with the state’s guidance, said county spokeswoman Michelle Durand. Because of the supply constraints, the county is focusing on the needs of those eligible at the greatest risk of death, she said.

Srija Srinivasan, the deputy chief of the San Mateo County Health Department, said in an email that the current focus for the limited vaccine supply is on health care workers and people 65 and over, which represent around 168,000 residents.

SMCPCSA President Daniel Steidle, also the Pacifica police chief, said the association’s concern is where law enforcement would fall in the Phase 1B process and its prioritization, given its importance to public safety and the close contact it often has to have with people. Most law enforcement officers have not received vaccines from a San Mateo County program. While the state provides strict guidance, a county can slightly modify its vaccination plans in eligible phases. SMCPCSA believes several counties like Alameda and Santa Clara modified plans, based on a large number of law enforcement personnel receiving vaccinations in those counties. Steidle said law enforcement organizations meet with the county weekly to get updates on the vaccination process. He has not heard any specific plans for prioritization from the county but said overall communication has been good throughout the pandemic. Steidle recognizes that law enforcement’s vaccine process, if prioritized, could have to come in waves, as there are more than 2,000 people in law enforcement organizations in the county, which would require time and resources to ensure prioritization. His organization recommends people in law enforcement get vaccines if they live in counties that have started vaccinations for law enforcement.

His department in Pacifica has not had an outbreak yet, but one of his main concerns is staffing levels, as having sections of his department quarantine could affect its ability to respond to public safety needs.

San Mateo Police Chief Ed Barberini was not intimately familiar with a plan for his department and law enforcement at the county level for prioritization, and he is worried about the health and safety of people in the department, as well as people in the community who could possibly expose or be exposed to COVID-19. His department has provided options to people calling for some nonemergency calls to avoid contact when possible, and his department is doing daily monitoring to ensure no one is showing symptoms.

Barberini said of the approximately 180 people in his department, around 40 have received the vaccination through other counties where they live or their health care provider. Although his department has not had any staffing issues, 19 people have tested positive since the pandemic started, while many more have had to quarantine at various stages. Barberini is encouraging anyone in his office to get the vaccine from wherever they can, like if they live in another county that prioritizes law enforcement.

“If your health provider or county offers it to you and you would like to take it, we would encourage you to do so,” Barberini said.

David Canepa, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, supports prioritizing front line law enforcement personnel and vaccinating them as soon as possible, if they want it, given the potential COVID-19 exposures they face through direct contact during patrols and in jails. The county’s current focus is health care workers and people 65 and over, but he believes officers should also be given prioritization.

“I just think, in terms of public health, it’s the right thing to do,” Canepa said.

His particular focus is on the estimated 900 police officers that patrol the streets in San Mateo County, rather than the upper levels in law enforcement.

“I’m not interested in command staff or police chiefs getting the vaccination. They need to wait like everyone else. I don’t think they would disagree with me because they want to take care of their people,” Canepa said.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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