Seth Wenig / AP
While first responders have been given priority access to the coronavirus vaccine, evidence suggests local public safety workers are being vaccinated at different rates.
About three-quarters of Pittsburgh firefighters have been vaccinated, the head of the firefighters union said Wednesday. And while the city said it does not track vaccinations for its own workers, Allegheny Health Network reported that of the 1,500 emergency medical services workers with which it works in other municipalities, about two-thirds have been vaccinated.
Those rates are consistent with some recent figures documenting the general public’s willingness to get inoculated. On Wednesday, Gallup found that 71% of Americans are willing to get the shot, the highest rate the firm has recorded since July. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that, between September and December, the number of Americans who say they’ll get the vaccine rose from 39% to 49%.