#Less than half of NYPD cops have taken one COVID-19 vax dose

Less than half of NYPD officers have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination — as police departments across the country lag in getting their forces inoculated, according to a report.

NYPD data obtained by the Washington Post shows that just 39 percent of the city’s cops have been jabbed.

That’s significantly less than the 55 percent of Big Apple residents who have received at least one shot or the 47 percent of New York State residents who’ve been administered at least one vaccine, according to recent statistics.

The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the data. The Post independently requested vaccination data from the NYPD in late March — but is still yet to receive it.   

However, one cop source told The Post that many New York City police officers aren’t getting vaccinated because the department isn’t offering them the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine — which many on the force would prefer. 

“The thing is they’re not offering the Johnson & Johnson [vaccine], and a lot of cops don’t want to take the two shots,” the cop said.

“A lot of cops want to take the Johnson & Johnson [vaccine], and the department’s not offering it for whatever reason.”

The police source insisted that those on the force “want to do” the one-dose jab, suggesting the lackluster vaccination rate isn’t a result of overall vaccine hesitancy.

“We should be able to take any shot,” the cop said, adding that he thinks the lack of choice is “not fair.”

But New York City isn’t the only city where the police officers are getting vaccinated at remarkably low rates.

In Phoenix, Arizona, just 23 percent of cops have received a COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to the data obtained by the Washington Post — the lowest of all the city departments that provided figures to the paper.

Meanwhile, in Columbus, Ohio, just 28 percent of cops have received at least one shot, and in Atlanta, Georgia, only 36 percent of officers have been administered at least one dose.

Las Vegas is on par with New York City, with 39 percent of the city’s police force jabbed, according to the data.

“I think it’s unacceptable,” Joe Lombardo, the head of Las Vegas police and sheriff of Clark County, told the outlet of the low rates. 

Cops remaining unvaccinated means they could spread the virus to unvaccinated people, experts warned.

“Police touch people,” Sharona Hoffman, a professor of law and bioethics at Case Western Reserve University, told the Washington Post.

“Imagine having a child in the car who’s not vaccinated. People would want to know if a police officer coming to their window is protected.”  

Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy