MADISON, Wis. — The Madison Police Department says most of the department is now fully vaccinated from COVID-19.
In a blog post from Chief Shon Barnes on Wednesday, the department says 85% of its members have been vaccinated.
As part of a new video series, the chief says that number should help officers get out into the community more than they have during the pandemic and have more face-to-face interactions with the public.
“There’s a theme from all the meetings I’ve had, and this is our community, they would like to get to know our officers again,” Barnes said in a video posted Wednesday.
“We know that relationships are best built at the grassroots level, so I’m excited that our department is vaccinated,” Barnes said. “I just think it’s a great thing that the community is saying we want our police, but we want to get to know who you are, so you know who we are, who our children are and we can make those relationships better.”
Barnes says having so much of the department vaccinated also offers some peace of mind.
“We have families, too. We are human beings, we have children and elderly parents that we sometimes live with us that we take care of,” Barnes said. “Having the department vaccinated really goes a long way with our officers’ mindsets, so they can relax a little bit knowing they can be around their loved ones again, that helps them be a better public servant.”
Members of the department first started receiving their vaccinations in January. About 500 members of the department got their first doses in the first week they were available to them.
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