When their turn comes, Minneapolis' first responders will not be required to take the COVID-19 vaccine before coming to work, officials said this week.
While the first shipments of the first vaccine only arrived in Minnesota earlier this month, police officers and firefighters are still likely weeks, if not months, away from receiving their doses. Whether they will choose to roll up their sleeves is another matter.
When the time comes, immunization will not be compulsory for MPD officers, said department spokesman John Elder, adding that he expects most officers will choose to be vaccinated.
He said the department was still working out the logistics of when and how to distribute the doses, as well as which of its sworn and civilian employees will be first in line for the vaccine when it's available.
"We are strongly encouraging our staff to get these vaccinations, but there will be no mandate," said Elder. Police leaders made their decision in consultation with other departments, including the city attorney's office, he said.
Whether the department even has the authority to require officers to get immunized is not clear, according to Elder.
A spokesman for the state Department of Health said that generally speaking, any vaccine that receives an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration — as the two COVID-19 versions have — "cannot be mandated for the general population," although exceptions exist for individual employers. Last week, the federal government issued guidelines saying that employers can require workers to get vaccinated and potentially bar them from the workplace if they refuse.
Other departments around the country are wrestling with similar issues.