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The International Association of Fire Fighters is urging states to give firefighters and emergency medical personnel "the highest priority" when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine.
"The level of risk to responders has never been greater than it is today," the organization stated in a letter to the National Governors Association.
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According to the IAFF, more than 30,000 career firefighters have had known on-duty COVID-19 exposures, which has led to more than 17,000 of them needing to quarantine or isolate. Nearly 150 career firefighters also have been hospitalized because of the virus, and at least 19 firefighters have died from coronavirus.
"All this, despite PPE use and rigorous decontamination procedures, makes vaccinating fire fighters and emergency medical personnel all the more urgent," the IAFF wrote. "The virus not only places the lives and health of responders at risk, it also poses a risk to the larger community as well as to fire fighters responding to emergencies in homes, businesses and elsewhere before they may be aware of an infection."
The IAFF went on to state that vaccinated first responders will allow them to continue serving their communities during the pandemic. Not giving firefighters and emergency workers priority for the vaccine could create challenges for municipalities across the country.
"Absent adequate vaccination, responders will continue to be subject to lengthy quarantines when they are exposed to COVID-19 positive individuals, imposing significant costs on local governments as they backfill positions or operate understaffed, increasing response times and negatively impacting public safety," the letter stated.
Currently, 132 firefighters and emergency medical workers are quarantined, and 188 personnel had been diagnosed with the virus since July 1, according to the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
