photo by: Journal-World graphic

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., and the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

Though the City of Lawrence has seen a significant increase in the vaccination rates among employees since announcing a new testing policy a month ago, numbers show there are notable differences among the vaccination rates of the community’s first responders.

The vaccination rate for Lawrence police is 71%, compared to 89% for the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical department and 78% for Douglas County Sheriff’s Office employees, according to data the city and county provided the Journal-World. Overall, 85% of city employees and 84% of county employees are vaccinated.

The Journal-World requested the vaccination information following the city’s announcement of a new testing requirement and leave policy for unvaccinated employees about a month ago, which has coincided with an uptick in the city’s overall vaccination rate. The newspaper specifically requested the rate of police, fire and medical and Sheriff’s Office employees since they regularly have direct contact with the public as part of their jobs. On a national level, some police unions have strongly resisted vaccination or testing requirements, even though COVID-19 has been the No. 1 killer of law enforcement officers in 2020 and 2021, according to national media reports.

The Journal-World asked Shelby Patch, the city’s risk manager, if the city had any concerns — for the officers themselves or the public they interact with — that the vaccination rate for police is lower than the rate for other city employees. Patch said in an email to the newspaper that the city is “strongly encouraging” all employees who can get vaccinated to do so, and is optimistic that recent progress will continue.

“We continue to move in the right direction, with more and more employees reporting full vaccination status in the past few weeks,” Patch said. “We are hopeful that even more will choose to get vaccinated in the weeks to come.”

When the new policy was announced Sept. 18, City Manager Craig Owens said the city had verified that 77% of its employees were vaccinated, meaning the city’s vaccination rate increased by eight percentage points since the announcement. The vaccination rate for city and county employees overall is also significantly higher than the community as a whole. The latest data from Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health indicates that 69% of residents 12 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 62% are fully vaccinated. In the U.S., 77% of those 12 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 67% are fully vaccinated, according to national databases.

Patch also said the city cares deeply about the health and safety of all city employees and community members, and continues to follow the latest local, state and national public health guidance. Though the city recently changed some mask requirements for its recreation center, all city employees must continue wearing masks when in public indoor areas and areas where they cannot socially distance.

Under the city’s new policy, unvaccinated city employees must be tested weekly for the coronavirus, though the testing program has not yet begun. In addition, unvaccinated employees are not eligible to use the city’s COVID leave, which allows vaccinated city employees to not draw from their regular sick or vacation time if they become sick with COVID or have to quarantine, or if a family member becomes sick or has to quarantine.

The Journal-World reached out to the city’s three unionized employee groups regarding the city’s COVID testing and leave policy for unvaccinated employees. A representative for the Lawrence Police Officers Association did not immediately respond to a request from the newspaper Friday afternoon to comment on the policy or the vaccination rate among the police force as compared to other employees.

International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1596 President Seamus Albritton said the union is generally supportive of the city’s policy to test unvaccinated employees and glad the city has brought back the COVID leave benefit, though the union has approached management to propose some expansions of the leave benefit for specific situations. Teamsters Local 696 President Michael Scribner said that union — which represents the city’s solid waste workers — doesn’t have a problem with testing unvaccinated employees, but that the union’s position is that COVID leave should be considered on a case-by-case basis, regardless of vaccine status.

Patch anticipated the city would be ready to begin its weekly testing program for unvaccinated employees in about two to three weeks. She said the timeline depends on supplies arriving as planned and pending state approvals.

For its part, Douglas County has already begun a testing program for unvaccinated Sheriff’s Office employees. Sheriff’s Office spokesperson George Diepenbrock said employees who are not vaccinated are tested weekly. When asked why the policy was put in place, Diepenbrock said Sheriff Jay Armbrister implemented the testing policy because of the nature of most Sheriff’s Office employees’ work and a desire to promote best public health practices. Diepenbrock noted that employees’ job duties include contact with the community and with people being held at the county jail.

As far as a potential testing policy for all county employees, county spokesperson Karrey Britt said the county is still considering the prospect. County Administrator Sarah Plinsky previously said the county was researching the possibility and would also be looking to the city’s rollout of its testing policy.