Flipkart to cover Covid-19 vaccination costs for employees

New Delhi: E-commerce major Flipkart will cover the vaccination cost for all Flipkart and Myntra employees and three dependents, joining the growing roster of enterprises in the country that are doing so.

In a communication to employees, Flipkart said it anticipates the next phase of the vaccination drive to cover all citizens, in addition to the current priority groups.

"While we wait for the Government's decision on the next phase, I am happy to share that Flipkart Group has decided to cover 100 per cent of the vaccination cost for all Flipkart and Myntra employees and three dependents. You can choose to be reimbursed for the costs of the vaccinations or get them free of charge at a partner hospital," the company said.

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Alternatively, employees can choose to participate in any future vaccination drive organised on campus or facilities at major locations, it added.

Employees can avail of a day's leave to manage the vaccination process and will be allowed to take the COVID special care leave to manage any symptoms post-vaccination.

"Currently, the vaccine is one of the most effective tools that we have, to arrest the pandemic and its adverse consequences.

"However, opting for the vaccine is left completely to your discretion and we urge you to consider the benefits, read up about its effectiveness and make the right decision for yourself and your family," Flipkart Chief People Officer Krishna Raghavan said in the note.

The company continues to closely monitor the guidance of international health organisations and local health authorities, he added.

When contacted, Flipkart confirmed the development.

On Monday, IT firm Mindtree and Sify Technologies had said they will cover the vaccine cost for employees and their family members.

Several companies, including Infosys, Accenture, Capgemini, Reliance Industries, TVS Motor Company and ReNew Power have committed to covering vaccine costs for their employees and their family members.

Infosys co-founders N R Narayana Murthy and Kris Gopalakrishnan, and Kotak Mahindra Bank Managing Director and CEO Uday Kotak, are among the business leaders who have received the vaccination.

People above 60 years of age and those above 45 with comorbidities are being immunised in the second phase of the nationwide vaccination that started on March 1.

Covaxin and Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield are the two vaccines that are being administered in the country. Covaxin has been indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

A total of 2,30,08,733 vaccine doses have been administered through 4,05,517 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am on Tuesday.

These include 70,75,010 HCWs (1st dose), 37,39,478 HCWs (2nd dose), 67,92,319 FLWs (1st dose) and 3,25,972 FLWs (2nd dose), 7,01,809 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (1st dose) and 43,74,145 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years.