Amazon is one of the biggest e-commerce companies across the globe and social responsibility of such companies’ matter. Yes! amidst the chaos of the unfortunate COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon has started to roll out on-site COVID-19 vaccination for its front-line workers in the United States. The company announced the news on Thursday as they step-up to get their U.S. employees immunized against the world threat.
According to a report by Reuters, Amazon is following a move made by Marriott International Inc.- a hotel chain operator and retail company Kroger Co. that involves providing incentives to employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Amazon on the other hand is offering USD 80 to its employees in the United States with no official access to the on-site clinics.
One thing that would affect the e-commerce giant’s decision is the availability of the COVID-19 vaccines. The rate of vaccination in the United States is higher than many other countries as people are readily getting the vaccination available. At least, half of the country’s population is vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine.
Having said that, Amazon has taken this consideration into account and decided to start the on-site vaccination program for COVID-19 first in Kansas, Missouri and Nevada. After this, the company plans to expand its vaccine drive to other parts of the country as and when the vaccines become readily available.
As mentioned in the report by Reuters, back in December, Amazon had also asked the United States government to prioritise vaccination for essential workers such as data centre staff, warehouse workers, grocery store employees and others.
The United States has been very proactive with its COVID-19 vaccination drive and this move of on-site vaccination for front-line workers is very beneficial for the people of the country. Even social media conglomerate, Facebook Inc. is working to help the Unites States’ government get people vaccinated for the virus. The company has partnered with Boston’s Children’s Hospital to leverage their tool to connect people in getting the most accurate information on the COVID-19 vaccine. The company is also launching its tool on Facebook that will allow users to find the nearest COVID-19 vaccination centre as a part of its drive. This will really help people get correct knowledge on the vaccination, how to get it and where to get it from.
Amazon’s efforts to vaccinate its front-line employees with on-site vaccination is commendable and will certainly help the Unites States government to get each and every individual vaccinated for this threat called COVID-19.
