Pennsylvania State Police Will Not Say Whether Trooper Who Died From COVID-19 Had Vaccine

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — It is unclear whether a Pennsylvania state trooper who died last week after battling COVID-19 was vaccinated against the virus.

Pennsylvania State Police announced that Trooper Dung X. Martinez, 57, who was stationed out of Troop T in King of Prussia, had died recently after being hospitalized.

While the agency did not divulge the reason behind the hospitalization, the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association announced that Martinez's Oct. 21 death was attributed to COVID-19.

Patch reached out to the Pennsylvania State Police to try and ascertain whether or not Martinez had been vaccinated against the virus, but was told that any privileged health information would remain confidential out of respect for the trooper's family.

"Troopers are entitled to their own health decisions," Corporal Brent Miller, a state police spokesman, said in a phone interview.

Miller followed up with an email explaining that while the agency has no vaccine mandate for troopers, it does "encourage its personnel to get vaccinated against COVID-19," but added that, "there is no current Department mandate."

Miller then released the following statement:

"Throughout the pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 on Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) staffing remained manageable, and day-to-day operations suffered minimal impact. This is partly due to the Department’s early implementation of our incident management team to assist in managing all aspects of our pandemic preparedness efforts. In addition, consistent efforts of department personnel to follow CDC/DOH recommendations, which include social distancing when possible, keeping work areas disinfected, wearing masks when appropriate, and monitoring for potential symptoms of COVID-19, have allowed us to continue providing vital public safety services."

In Pennsylvania, only certain state-employed healthcare workers face a "vaccine or test" requirement, although Gov. Tom Wolf announced that as of Oct. 1, there would be a vaccine incentive for state employees under the governor's jurisdiction.

This incentive enables vaccinated state employees under the executive branch to be eligible for an additional 7.5 or 8 hours paid time off, according to the governor's office.

The Wolf administration says it is actively working with state employee unions on the implementation of this policy.