Portland firefighters to be vaccinated starting Thursday

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Portland Fire & Rescue will start vaccinating their employees on Thursday.

PF&R received 1,000 first-round doses of the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday. The agency's paramedics will administer the shots to all 700 firefighters starting Thursday morning and the process is expected to take a few days.

The remaining doses will be used to start vaccinating Portland police officers.

At least a dozen PF&R firefighters have so far tested positive for COVID-19. PF&R has 31 fire stations throughout the city, and have responded to over 60,000 calls for service since the pandemic began.

"Each of these firefighters with the infection or positive result means we have to quarantine the entire crew and sometimes the entire station," explained Lt. Rich Chapman.

Firefighters and staff complete health assessments and temperature checks before reporting to work, wear face coverings inside fire station common areas and work facilities as well as outside, and adhering to 6 feet of physical distancing in non-emergency situations when possible.

Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue also received a shipment of Moderna vaccines on Wednesday and will start administering shots to firefighters next week. Doses will also be provided to law enforcement in Washington and Clackamas counties.