NEW DELHI: IT firm Cognizant on Thursday said it will cover the vaccination cost for over six lakh people in India, including its two lakh employees and their families as well as contract and support staff.
E-sports company Mobile Premier League (MPL) and NxtGen Infinite Datacenter have also decided to absorb the cost of vaccination of their staff, joining the growing roster of enterprises in the country that are doing so.
"It has been a year since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented disruption across India"
"Our employees have been instrumental in facilitating critical services to millions of people around the world, including those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, through their work with our clients and communities," Cognizant India Chairman and Managing Director Rajesh Nambiar said in an e-mailed statement.
He added that with the COVID-19 vaccine finally here, the company has decided to cover the vaccination cost of more than six lakh people in India.
"(This will include) our more than 200,000 full-time employees and their dependents in the country, as well as approximately 50,000 people, comprising contingent staff such as contract, support and security personnel, and their families," he said.
Nambiar said the company continues to focus on helping employees and their families stay healthy, and creating vital moments of togetherness and camaraderie during these times of remote working and social distancing.
Mobile Premier League (MPL) said it will undertake an end-to-end vaccination drive for all its Indian employees and their dependents.
The company has already partnered with a healthcare service provider and it plans to commence the drive as soon as the necessary government protocols and regulations for vaccination of the general public are announced.
The planned vaccination drive will not be limited to just covering the cost, but will also take care of the entire process, including pre-vaccination medical opinion, inoculation as per the protocols, as well as post-vaccination observation of the individuals by doctors, it said.
"At MPL, we have always prioritised employee welfare and wellness. Through the initiative of providing the COVID-19 vaccine for all our employees and their families, we aim to strengthen our commitment to our employees and place a firm emphasis on their safety and security," MPL co-founder and CEO Sai Srinivas said.
The vaccination drive will be voluntary for employees and their immediate families, who can avail of it in major cities such as Kolkata, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai.
More than 2,000 people comprising of the employee and three dependents can avail of the plan.
NxtGen Infinite Datacenter Head Sales Ranjit Metrani said the company has decided to empower employees against the deadly virus by "absorbing the vaccination cost of our employees and their elderly dependents across the company."
NxtGen Infinite Datacenter has 300 employees.
Several companies, including Flipkart, Infosys, Accenture, Capgemini, Reliance Industries, TVS Motor Company, ReNew Power, Mindtree and Sify Technologies 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 co-morbidities 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).
More than 2.56 crore (2,56,85,011) vaccine doses have so far been administered in the country through 4,78,168 sessions, according to a provisional report compiled Thursday morning, the government said.
The beneficiaries include 71,97,100 healthcare workers (HCWs) who have been administered the first dose, 40,13,249 HCWs who have been given the second dose, 70,54,659 frontline workers (FLWs) who have been given the first dose and 6,37,281 FLWs who have received the second dose.
Besides, 9,67,058 beneficiaries aged above 45 years with specific co-morbidities and 58,15,664 beneficiaries aged above 60 years have received the first dose of the vaccine.