'I Wish We Had Those Doses': Woodland Deputy Police Chief Questions Vaccination Process
WOODLAND (CBS13) – With a power outage impacting thousands, a free charging station is being offered at the Woodland Police station. But who would man the facility during a pandemic raised questions about which officers are getting the vaccine and when.
"I knew they needed a location," said Woodland's Deputy Police Chief Anthony Cucchi.
Cucchi said he was happy to step in and help people who needed power to charge medical devices in their community room, but there were concerns.
"Our staff is out there working calls for service. We don't have the staff to really man the charging stations, so the county is going to do that for us," he said.
That is a relief because Cucchi said not all 68 sworn officers and 15 civilian personnel who work there have received a coronavirus vaccination.
"We've had exposures. We've had a quarantine. We follow all the protocols when they happen," he said.
Cucchi questioned why firefighters were prioritized in a higher tier for vaccination.
"If they have the doses to get law enforcement done earlier, that's great. And I wish we had those doses so we could do that," he said.
The current vaccination prioritization means some of the homeless are vaccinated before the cops they come in contact with. a spokeswoman for Yolo County said.
"Yolo County is working as quickly as possible to vaccinate our residents, including our law enforcement. We are following the state's prioritization list for vaccine distribution and they are in phase 1b tier 1, after 65 and older. We are also in need of more vaccines," the spokesperson said. "I know we're following the tiers and that's all we can do."
Cucchi wants health leaders to rethink the prioritization system and get those doses distributed, so those who protect and serve can get the protection they need.
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