Thirty firefighters from the West Covina Fire Department received the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, Dec. 29. Fire Chief Vincent Capelle said more vaccines will be administered Thursday and Saturday, with all 80 firefighters in the department expected to receive it by then.
“It was a success,” Capelle said.
The vaccinations were administered at West Covina Fire Station 2 as a joint effort between the Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs, Los Angeles Emergency Medical Services Agency and the Arcadia Fire Department.
Capelle said nine firefighters in the West Covina Fire Department have tested positive for coronavirus since the pandemic began. Several more were quarantined after being exposed to the coronavirus. Other members of the department have filled in when firefighters were not able to work because of being exposed to coronavirus. Capelle said resources are “really thin.”
West Covina City Councilmember Tony Wu said the firefighters receiving the COVID-19 vaccine was part of the first step the city is taking to combat the pandemic.
“First the frontliners, the doctors and nurses,” Wu said. “Hopefully they can go to the nursing homes, those are the high-risk people.”
Wu said it was important that firefighters and first responders stay healthy and are able to serve the community.
“We need them on the street. We already are understaffed. If they get sick, we have quite a few, they need to be quarantined for two weeks, no matter how light their symptoms are,” Wu said. “If they are positive, they need to be quarantined. We will be in more trouble. We don’t have enough staff to perform the job. We want to make sure they don’t contract the virus.”
The West Covina Police Department is scheduled to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as well.