Major firefighter organizations coming together to ask for priority access when a COVID-19 vaccine releases

MARYLAND- With talk of COVID-19 vaccines being made available as soon as this month, major fire fighter organizations like The International Association of Fire Fighters and the National Volunteer Fire Council are asking to be among the first to receive it.

“I would tell the leaders, the politicians that are deciding, the community leaders, the health department take care of the people that care of your people we are the ones that are out there,” a firefighter and paramedic with the Ocean Pines Fire Department, said.

This week the organizations sent letters to state leaders and governors urging them to give firefighters, paramedics and EMT’s priority access.

Those we spoke with at the Salisbury Fire Department agree that getting the early access to the vaccine could help because EMT’s are usually the first link in the COVID-19 response spending 10 to 15 minutes at a time with COVID positive patients as they rush them to the hospital.

“Having the vaccine is not a silver bullet and makes our folks immune, but it gives us one more level of safety and security with it so we aren’t going into the unknown kind of blind sided,” Christopher Truitt, an EMS Captain for the Salisbury Fire Department, said.

Melissa Bragg, who is a firefighter and paramedic with the Ocean Pines Fire Department, as well as a member of the International Association of Fire Fighters, adds that this vaccine could lessen the chance of people having to call out from work because of COVID.

“Being off for 14 days, the increasing trying to back fill those positions can cause increased money for staffing overtime,” Bragg said.

Ultimately though, early access or not, those we spoke to said they’ll continue to do their best to try and fight this pandemic.

While details about the vaccine are still uncertain, some fire organizations said they are optimistic that their voices will be heard.

Ocean Pines firefighter and paramedic Melissa Bragg said Governor Larry hogan has always been very supportive of first responders, so she’s hopeful he’ll be on board with giving them early access.