Washington, DC - Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, announced that the organization has endorsed S. 3079, the “Keeping Our COVID-19 Heroes Employed Act,” which was introduced yesterday by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).  President Yoes issued the following statement:

“It is the position of the National FOP that vaccinations work to prevent people from becoming infected by COVID-19 and we encourage our members to get vaccinated.  However, the National FOP believes that whether or not to accept the vaccine is a personal decision that our members should make for themselves after consultation with their doctor or other medical professionals. 

“We understand the public policy and public health objectives behind the Federal mandate on vaccinations.  No one needs to tell our members about the dangers of COVID-19—we have lost more than 700 officers to the virus since the start of the pandemic.  We know it can be deadly.

“Even with that knowledge, law enforcement officers in every region of the country reported for work. Due to our profession, we did not have the option to work from home, and we could not always practice social distancing. We showed up and worked to keep our communities safe, even in the midst of a global pandemic and, sometimes, without even the most basic personal protective equipment (PPE).

“We have said from the beginning of the pandemic, that this is a public health crisis as well as a public safety crisis. Unfortunately, the public safety crisis could very well be exacerbated as a result of mandating our everyday heroes to choose unwillingly getting a medical procedure or their jobs—it is not fair or just. Delivering an ultimatum to the brave men and women of law enforcement is not right, and that is why the FOP—and our 364,000 members—supports S. 3079.  We urge the Senate to consider this legislation before these brave men and women lose their livelihoods.”