Yesterday, PERF held a virtual Town Hall Meeting to discuss COVID-19 vaccination programs in law enforcement agencies. Panelists included:

Medical Panel

  • Dr. Fabrice Czarnecki, Chief Medical Officer, Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
  • Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, Health Officer, Anne Arundel County, MD

Law Enforcement Panel

  • Chief Paul Pazen, Denver Police Department
  • Det. Nick Rogers, President, Denver Police Protective Association
  • Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Palm Beach County, FL Sheriff’s Office
  • Deputy Superintendent Pauline Wells, Cambridge, MA Police Department

Below is a list of questions answered during the town hall, with the timestamp for each question.

If you would like to view the 75-minute discussion, click here.

If you would prefer to view certain portions of the discussion, you can click on the timestamp following each question, to skip directly to that question.  Before skipping to another question, close the window for the previous question.

Medical Panel

  • What adverse reactions and side effects are associated with COVID-19 vaccinations? (6:53)
  • What does it mean when people say the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are 94-95% effective? (8:49)
  • Israel is leading the world in vaccinations administered. What impact has that had on that country? (10:48)
  • Should women who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant have any special concerns about the vaccine? (12:05)
  • Should people who have already been infected with COVID-19 be vaccinated? (14:17)
  • Do people who have already been infected with COVID-19 have stronger side effects after getting vaccinated? (15:10)
  • If someone has been vaccinated and their patrol partner has not, should they continue to ride together? (16:57)
  • Do people who have been vaccinated need to continue wearing masks and taking other precautions? (19:26)
  • Should police chiefs and sheriffs change anything about their staffing when some employees have been vaccinated and some have not? (20:35)
  • What is herd immunity? Can a police department reach herd immunity? (22:20)
  • Why should a young, healthy officer who practices social distancing and wears a mask get the vaccine? (24:07)
  • Are there any categories of people who shouldn’t get vaccinated? (26:30)
  • How should police leaders try to persuade those who are reluctant to get vaccinated? (27:05)
  • Can you still contract COVID-19 after you’re vaccinated? (29:05)
  • What trials had to be conducted before the vaccine was approved? (30:55)
  • What are some of the common side effects for the first shot and second shot? Do those vary for different age groups? (33:51)
  • How do you respond to people who don’t think the side effects are worth getting vaccinated? (36:27)
  • What advice would you give your family members about the vaccine? (37:27)

Law Enforcement Panel

Chief Paul Pazen

  • Tell us about your agency’s involvement in the Moderna vaccine trial. (39:32)

Det. Nick Rogers

  • Why did you sign up for the Moderna trial? (42:33)
  • Why do you think some in law enforcement are reluctant to get the vaccine? (45:05)

Chief Paul Pazen

  • What was your strategy for rolling out the vaccine to your department? (47:31)
  • Have you seen a decrease in COVID-19 infections in your department since your officers started getting vaccinated? (50:20)

Det. Nick Rogers

  • Have you heard of any Denver officers who have had bad side effects after taking the vaccine? (51:13)

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw

  • What did you do when you became concerned that not enough of your deputies were getting vaccinated? (54:35)
  • You sent your entire agency a video of you, members of your command staff, and your union president getting vaccinated. Was your goal to lead by example? (56:35)
  • Do you worry that your staff will stop wearing masks and taking other precautions after getting vaccinated? (59:10)

Dep. Supt. Pauline Wells

  • What was the Cambridge Police Department’s approach to rolling out the vaccine? (1:01:23)
  • What steps did you take to convince people to get vaccinated? (1:02:49)
  • You used access to the gym as an incentive to get people vaccinated, correct? (1:06:19)
  • How have the vaccinations changed the mood of the department? (1:07:20)

Concluding Remarks

 

The PERF Daily COVID-19 Report is part of the Critical Issues in Policing project, supported by the Motorola Solutions Foundation.

 

PERF also is grateful to the Howard G. Buffett Foundation for supporting PERF’s COVID-19 work.