Colorado Springs police and firefighter chiefs get vaccinated for COVID-19

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The chiefs for Colorado Springs' police and fire departments got vaccinated on camera Wednesday afternoon.

Fire Chief Ted Collas and Police Chief Vince Niski got their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at UCHealth at 9a.m. on Wednesday. Both agreed to be filmed while getting their vaccination.

Collas said he wants El Paso County residents to know that the vaccine will protect both their first responders and the people that they serve.

"We believe in this vaccine, we think that it will be something that's good for our community," Collas said. "This is the first step in getting back to normal."

The first responders and chiefs that got vaccinated Wednesday obtained the first dose of the Moderna vaccine. They will be back in about three weeks to get the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"I think it's important for the first responders and the community to see us get the vaccinations," said Niski, the city's police chief. "I think we're here to show that we support this process. We're here to show that it's important to us to not only protect ourselves, but to protect the community that we serve."

First responders who got vaccinated said the shot was "just as easy as getting a flu vaccine."

Dr. Leon Kelly, the El Paso County coroner, also got the vaccine publicly on Wednesday.

"This vaccine is no different than all the other vaccines we've gotten through our lives that have let the vast majority of us to live healthy lives," Kelly said. "It's really all of our passports to a future that looks a lot like the past that we had, that we want to get back to."

Kelly reaffirmed that this vaccine was achieved in record-breaking time "not because corners were cut, but because it was really a global effort."

First responders are now able to obtain the vaccine as Colorado enters Phase 1B of the state's program. People over the age of 70 years old can also obtain the vaccine now.