Police are frontline workers, must be given Covid-19 vaccine priority - SAPU
The SA Policing Union (SAPU) has called on government to
consider the police as frontline workers and be given priority when any
Covid-19 vaccines.
According to the union, more than 300 officers were lost by the end of December to Covid-related illness, with more than 21 000 cumulative cases and more than 900 active cases.
Sapu says police are not given the same attention as health workers, even though they frontline workforce in the fight against Covid-19.
ALSO READ: FITA wants gov's tobacco ban appeal to be reconsidered
https://www.jacarandafm.com/news/news/sacc-govt-must-work-pharmaceuticals-ensure-affordable-covd-19-vaccines/
The unions' general Secretary Tumelo Mogodiseng says when the rollout plan was issued by government, police were not mentioned.
"We recently learned that when the vaccine are to be available police are not mentioned as frontliners.
"So we are making a call that police should be considered as frontliners who are exposed on a daily basis.
"They are at high risk, they are being exposed as equally as health workers.”
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and a panel of experts have already outlined the plan to roll out the vaccine to South Africans this year.
Mkhize said government hopes to obtain a Covid-19 vaccine by February.
