Amazon announced on Tuesday that it would begin vaccinating frontline delivery workers in India through on-site vaccination camps at its operations buildings. The camps will first be held in Delhi and will be expanded to employees in other cities as more vaccines become available.
The company wrote in a blog post that it has taken its learnings from vaccinating frontline workers over the age of 45 and over the next few weeks will start hosting on-site vaccination events with licensed healthcare providers.
“At Amazon India we’re working to make vaccination a ready choice for employees. Our on-site vaccination events are just one of the many measures we’re taking to keep our employees and communities safe,” Amit Agarwal, senior vice-president and country manager at Amazon India, wrote on Twitter.
Amazon said its vaccination drive will not only ensure the safety of its employees but also the communities they live in. The company added that the drive would also help ease the burden on community-run vaccination clinics.
Earlier, Amazon had said it would cover the cost for vaccinations of 10 lakh individuals, including its employees, service partners, sellers and their dependents. As part of this initiative, the company said frontline workers will be offered up to Rs 750 to get vaccinated off-site.
“We recognise that not every person will have access to on-site vaccination events right away and hence we are offering up to Rs 750 to frontline employees who can get vaccinated off-site,” the company wrote on its blog.
Amazon is also offering its frontline delivery workers benefits such as salary advances, leave, and isolation facility support in case they contract the virus and don’t have the means to isolate themselves from their families.
Agarwal added that Amazon is making efforts to encourage its employees to get vaccinated at the earliest, be it through reimbursement of vaccination costs, facilitating easy access to hospitals, or on-site vaccination events.
