MA Fire Union Sees Spike in COVID Cases among Vaccinated Members
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Massachusetts' firefighters union is resuming a weekly tracking system for its members after a spike in COVID-19 cases among those who are fully vaccinated.
Richard MacKinnon, head of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, told WBZ-TV that at least 10 breakthrough cases—instances in which the infected person has been vaccinated—have been reported from eight departments. Those communities include Attleboro, Cambridge, East Bridgewater, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Plymouth and Saugus.
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“We don’t want to be part of the problem and spread it to the public we’re responding to,” MacKinnon said. “We also don’t want to infect our families, that’s the biggest concern with our firefighters.”
On Monday, the union announced on social media that it would begin tracking its more than 12,000 firefighters and EMTs for COVID on a weekly basis when it comes to exposure to the virus. Because firefighters work closely with one another while on duty, officials are worried that asymptomatic first responders could unknowingly spread the virus to their colleagues and the public.
"We have received a recent uptick in fully vaccinated members testing positive for COVID-19," the online post stated. "We will be resuming our weekly COVID-19 text system to track our members' continued exposure to this pandemic."
Massachusetts has around 4.3 million residents vaccinated, and it has documented nearly 8,000 breakthrough cases as of the end of July. Those cases make up 0.18% of the state's inoculated individuals.
Of those breakthrough cases, 395 people have required hospitalization and 100 patients have died according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health