Police should get their COVID-19 booster shot before the start of the Christmas period, the Malta Police Union insisted as it registered a trade dispute.

Warning that instructions will be issued to members to protect their health, the union noted that it has been sending requests for police officers to be included with the early receivers of the COVID-19 booster jab for weeks, but it never received a reply.

It said police officers carry out inspections at places of entertainment, related to COVID-19 restrictions, which include duty at the quarantine hotel, and also attend places when health directives are being breached. 

The police, the union said, received their second vaccine doses around April, far earlier than other categories who are receiving their booster dose and worked mostly with bubbles. 

“Police officers cannot be used when needed, then forgotten. Why are police officers always treated as second-class citizens when their service to the country is second to none,” the union asked.