While the reasons officers are refusing to be vaccinated parallel those found in the nation at large — distrust of science, belief that it impinges on civil rights and misinformation about the vaccines — another cause is deeply embedded within police culture: the politics of police unions.

Those politics lean strongly to the right, and have historically been a roadblock for accountability and change in policing. And today, those politics are fed by an unimaginably large Covid-19 misinformation machine built during the last presidency. This misinformation has taken on a life of its own and is being spread through conservative news outlets, radio shows and social media. The disinformation campaign has apparently now taken root in policing, where even a life-saving vaccine is fair game for attack.

Given that most law enforcement work for government entities — either local, state or federal — it is right to expect police officers follow the rules of their employers as long as they are reasonable. A rule founded in protecting public health is more than reasonable; it is necessary. Rather than inserting themselves as power movers in the politics of the day, or backing their members’ right to endanger themselves and others, police unions opposing vaccine mandates should be working to protect the health and wellness of officers and the public those officers serve.