Approximately 800 Ottawa police officers are slated to start receiving their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday.
First responders in Ontario who provide emergency medical care fall under the province’s Phase 1 vaccination rollout.
An Ottawa Police Service (OPS) spokesperson said Tuesday that the local force has identified roughly 800 members who qualify for vaccination under these priorities. There are roughly 1,480 sworn officers in the OPS and an additional 620 civilian employees, according to the service’s website.
The OPS expects this initial cohort of officers to receive their first doses of the vaccine within the next two to three weeks, depending on the vaccine supplies.
The local police service has had 23 of its members test positive for the novel coronavirus thus far in the pandemic, according to the spokesperson.
Members of Toronto’s police force began receiving vaccinations earlier this week.
Anthony Di Monte, the head of the local COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force, said in an update to city council last week that Ottawa’s push to vaccinate medical first responders including firefighters and paramedics will require 3,112 vaccine doses.
Ottawa has so far administered 50,508 doses of the vaccine out of a total 61,820 doses received to date.
Comments