COVID-19 – not gunfire – is now the leading cause of death for police officers, but cops nationwide are still refusing to get vaccinated

• COVID-19 is the leading cause of death among police officers since the start of the pandemic, The New York Times reported.
• In 2020 and 2021, more than four times as many officers died from COVID-19 than gunfire.
• Many police officers are still resisting the COVID-19, forcing departments to require routine testing in place of a shot.

COVID-19 is the leading cause of death among police officers, but many are still resisting the vaccine.

More than 460 cops have died from COVID-19 cases tied to their work since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

In 2020 and 2021, more than four times as many police officers have died from the coronavirus than from gunfire. In the same period, COVID-19 was the most common cause of duty-related deaths.

Meanwhile, it remains a struggle to get police officers to take the vaccine, with many unions publicly pushing back against vaccine mandates, The New York Times reported.

In Massachusetts, union representatives for state police claim dozens have quit their jobs because of vaccine mandates.

In many places around the country, police departments have many job openings but few qualified candidates. In order to prevent a major walkout in any given police department, some cities have offered routine testing as a way to circumvent the vaccine mandate, the Times reported.