A “real education issue” is to blame for a new poll that has found more than half of FDNY firefighters plan to give up coronavirus vaccines, with some smokers already mistakenly believing they don’t need a shot, the union chief said Sunday. Was.
“Thirty percent of our members are already infected and are under the impression that they have antibodies that protect them,” Andy Ensbro, president of the Uniform Firefighters Association, told a press briefing outside the engine company’s headquarters. 3, CD Company 12 on West 19th Street in Manhattan.
A poll of 2,053 firefighters – about a quarter of UFA membership – found that 55 percent would refuse to take the vaccine once it became available, The Post reported Saturday.
Ansbro said on Sunday that there was a significant overlap between the figure and 35 per cent of UFA members who already have coronavirus and believe they cannot be re-infected.
“When you take 35 percent, there are very few people who don’t really want it. Some feel they don’t really need it, “he said. “So there’s a real education issue that we need to address.”
Evidence shows that coronaviruses can often contract.
Ansbro added that some members have misconceptions about getting the Pfizer vaccine – which is still awaiting approval from the Federal Food and Drug Administration – while some make sure others are covered first.
“There will always be people who don’t want to get on the front line of vaccinations, and that’s their right,” he said. “We have members that someone else would have. They don’t want to be at the front of the line. But the department needs them to come to the front of the line.
“We need them to come to the front of the line.”
Ansbro said he has not seen a decline in FDNY’s public confidence amid the epidemic, and expects a change even if the turnout figures are correct.
“I don’t think anyone has failed to call us in the last eight months,” he said. “If your house catches fire, you don’t have to worry about the virus. It’s just not going to happen. We did not.
“We have a constant supply [personal protective equipment] And if a member has symptoms, they don’t go to work, “he added. “The epidemic has affected us in some ways, but if we all wear masks, we are not a risk to the public if we choose not to be vaccinated.”
While proper use of the mask significantly reduces the spread of coronavirus, it does not completely eliminate it.
In anticipation of the vote, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday he would take the coronavirus vaccine – the first 170,000 doses of which are expected to reach the state by Dec. 15 – in an effort to boost public confidence.
Ensbro, who has publicly stated his intention to be vaccinated, said the UFA would work with FDNY to promote the shot.
“We are encouraging our department members to get it and we will work together with the department to encourage our members to get it,” he said. “But in the end, it’s their choice.”
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