Some first responders are avoiding getting their COVID-19 shot.
While about 72% of Californians have received at least one vaccine dose, only about 51% of city firefighters and 52% of LAPD officers are at least partially vaccinated, according to reporting by the Los Angeles Times.
According to Arthur Caplan, the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center, this is a nationwide problem. Similar trends are coming out of Massachusetts, Virginia, and other states.
They feel like they have been exposed, said Caplan, who joined KCBS Radio Monday morning to discuss the issue.
"Many of them say, 'I’ve had COVID-19' or 'I certainly over the last year was exposed to many people with COVID-19, so I must have already built up antibodies,'" Caplan added.
But that mindset isn’t necessarily accurate.
"There’s a misunderstanding," said Caplan. "Many of them feel like they don’t need to be vaccinated, but they still do."
"You get a better, more thorough response, we know, from vaccination. We’re not sure how good the response is from natural infection," he said.
Another possible reason holding first responders back is personal beliefs, Caplan said. "Some have a more conservative bent." But many conservative political officials and figures, former President Donald Trump included, have been vaccinated, he added.
"Politics has not drawn a line around vaccination," he said.
As of right now, police unions are leaving vaccination up to personal choice. "They never like to be told that they have to do something," Caplan said of the unions.
But that may change soon. Caplan anticipated vaccination mandates coming out in the next couple of months.
Ultimately, the vaccine is the better choice, particularly as variants and mutations spread, Caplan advised.
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