AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
IND
Image Source: Shutterstock
Summary
- Amazon Vice-President of global operations Dave Clark urged the US authorities to allow early vaccinations for all essential workers at Amazon.
- If the proposal gets accepted, all workers should receive their jabs in Phase 2a.
Amazon is trying to persuade the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to give all Amazon essential workers early access to the coronavirus vaccine.
In a letter sent earlier last week, Dave Clark, Amazon Senior Vice-President of worldwide operations, said that all essential employees who couldn’t work from home needed to be next in line for the vaccines.
According to Amazon, their warehouse, data centres, and Whole Foods workers would ideally receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the second wave of vaccinations, just after healthcare workers and people living at old-age facilities would get their jabs.
Amazon is, unlike many other businesses, experienced the peak of its sales in 2020, while many other small and middle-sized companies had no options but to shut their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As Amazon holds a significant demand for its online products, the business has urged all its employees to stay at work, so that it could prepare all the parcels out for delivery in time. That said, the online retailer cannot let its workers get infected by COVID-19, and be out of work for at least two weeks, so early vaccination seems reasonable to Amazon.
The e-commerce firm run by CEO Jeff Bezos, the wealthiest person in the world, currently counts 1.2 million employees across the globe.
DID YOU READ: Jeff Bezos Funds African Fintech Start-Up Chipper Cash
How does Amazon justify early jabs?
In 2019 alone, Amazon reported 14,000 accidents in its automatised warehouses. According to sources, Amazon tried to minimise the number of injuries throughout the years but still managed to end up with a higher percentage of injuries.
As the company has been criticised for allegedly not keeping its staff safe enough, it is thought that asking for early vaccines is a strategy for keeping its employees healthy.
Another Amazon response to protection at the workplace includes 150 additional measures to keep all workers safe. The e-commerce company even built a COVID-19 lab, where it independently tested its employees for the novel disease.
Mr Clark thanked everyone for working at Amazon, as they were the ones responsible for the company’s success and efficiency during these unprecedented times.
Image Source: Shutterstock
ALSO READ: Amazon Workers Plan Black Friday Strikes And Protests In 15 Countries Including Australia
Could Amazon workers be vaccinated before most individuals?
The Department of Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency proposed three stages of the vaccine dispersion before Pfizer got heads up for early approval of the jab.
In the first stage, front-line workers and the people living in long-term facilities would be the first in line to receive the coronavirus vaccine. The 1a phase is currently going on in the US.
Phase 2a would include essential employees, such as people working at retail, police, fire stations, teachers, and others. If approved, Amazon workers would get vaccinated in this phase.
Phase 3a is reserved for high-risk groups, mostly for elderly aged 65 and over.
