© Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg New York Police Department officers outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on Sept. 20. While there has been much national debate over vaccine mandates in the workplace, experts say first responders are a special case because of the unique position they hold in American life. Charleston police Lt. Robert Gamard reported that some of his department’s officers have said they were still “meaning to do it,” while others remain adamantly opposed. Both New York and Los Angeles departments reported that more than half of employees were vaccinated. Even without mandates, experts said, first responders have an obligation to get vaccinated to protect the public.
