Firefighters Say Florida County’s Vaccine Mandate Causing Rifts Among First Responders That Compromise Public Safety

Firefighter, paramedic, dispatcher, and EMT morale in Florida’s fifth most-populous county is so low due to a vaccine mandate that public safety is being compromised, first responders say.

About 500 of the men and women who fight fires and rush to medical 911 calls are receiving written reprimands in their employment files for refusing to take the vaccine for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

Many say they fear the vaccine because they’ve responded to daily calls to the homes of people who’ve been seriously harmed or died shortly after the injection, says a spokesman for the group, firefighter Jason Wheat. Others object because they feel they should have a right to choose what to put in their bodies or have religious objections.

The resulting infighting over who’s been vaccinated and who hasn’t is causing so much strife within the department that many first responders are distracted, stressed, and unable to work well as a team, Wheat said. The Epoch Times spoke with another firefighter, a lieutenant, and a firefighter who is married to another firefighter. All described intense pressure at work that has brought about exhaustion, depression, family troubles, harassment, and a frightening lack of cooperation and teamwork. Two expressed dismay about three recent suicides among department workers. They blamed the stress that has plagued the department since the pandemic began…. (Excerpts from the Epoch Times)