Courtesy Of Uvm Medical Center/ryan Mercer Preparing doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a University of Vermont Health Network vaccination clinic at the Champlain Valley Exposition As the first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Vermont a month ago, police officers figured they would be among the first to receive it. We re responding into uncontrolled environments for emergency situations, Rutland City Officer Kevin Blongy reasoned. You don t have control over the people, or where you re responding to, or what precautions anyone s taking. The state s initial vaccination plan as well as a federal advisory group seemed to acknowledge as much: Both put frontline essential workers in the second-highest priority group, following health care workers and residents of hard-hit eldercare homes.