Gardaí: ‘We could be super spreaders of this virus’

Given the nature of the work they do, members of An Garda Síochána should be moved up the Covid-19 vaccine priority list, according to the Garda Representative Association (GRA).

Local GRA representative, Gda Conor Staunton, said that the organisation was not looking for its members to “jump the queue” but that they should be prioritised after frontline healthcare staff, the elderly and vulnerable. He also stated that reports in the media that non-frontline workers in the HSE had received the vaccine is “causing a bit of angst among our members given the roles we partake in every day and the places we attend”.

“What we are saying is that we have constantly stepped up the plate during the pandemic. We are a year into this and we have been front and centre in the national effort. There is a potential risk to the health and safety of our members and a risk that we could be bringing on members of the public by the nature of our duties and different calls that we have to go to on a daily basis.

“We are entering into EDs on a daily basis. We could be dealing with a sudden death in a nursing home. What we are saying is that we could potentially be super spreaders of this virus.

“Every situation is not controlled all the time. While every step is taken to make sure that we are working in a controlled environment, it isn’t always possible, and I’d say more often than not. “

“It’s important to say that we are not trying to skip over anyone in particular. Every worker would have an argument for being vaccinated but what we are saying is that we enter so many different situations on a daily basis.

“We are also still helping the vulnerable, bringing messages into the elderly and bringing medicines and stuff like that and we want them to feel comfortable.”

In addition to potentially spreading the virus to members of the public, officers also have to contend with the risk of infecting family members.

“That is a big worry. I suppose while everyone is nervous about catching the virus and bringing it home, due to the nature of our work nearly every day you come home wondering ‘have I caught it?’. Am I going to pass it on to my family? And it doesn’t take a protest like we saw on Grafton Street for that concern to be there, it doesn’t take something like that.

“Every day we are entering situations where we are coming home wondering if we have it and if we are going to pass it on to our families. Particularly with people who are taking care of vulnerable family members. It’s a big concern for our members. We go out there everyday and we do our job to the best of our ability. We have stood up to the plate and done what has been asked of us. I don’t think it is too much to be asked to be placed higher up the list.”