On Tuesday, December 29, 2020, the New York Daily News quoted DEA President Paul DiGiacomo on the delay in getting the COVID vaccine to the members of the NYPD:
Finest told they’ll have to wait longer to get shots
BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA AND JOHN ANNESE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
NYPD members will have to wait for COVID-19 vaccinations. A roll-out expected as early as Tuesday was delayed indefinitely, police sources and union officials said.
In a Monday memo, Detectives’ Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo reported the NYPD hasn’t gotten enough doses of the Moderna vaccine from state officials to start administering the shots.
“We’ve made numerous attempts to get updated information, and when we get further word on its availability, we will immediately keep our members appraised of the new date and the method of distribution,” DiGiacomo wrote.
Sources told the Daily News earlier this month the NYPD expected to have vaccines ready by the end of the year.
DiGiacomo told the News Monday night that he’s confirmed the delay through NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea’s office as well as by the department’s Medical Division, which would administer the shots.
“I’m concerned about the rank of detectives and our members that are in Emergency Services,” he said.
Six NYPD detectives have died of the coronavirus, and DiGiacomo said the city’s detective squads are particularly at risk since they work in close quarters, interview suspects one-on-one in small interrogation rooms, and frequently visit crime scenes.
“Every detective squad has been crushed with it,” he said. “Within the last couple of weeks, we’ve had at least two detectives hospitalized.”
The NYPD didn’t immediately return a request for comment Monday.
