New Delhi: At this time of coronavirus vaccine drive which is going on across the country, Information Technology major Infosys Ltd and consulting and outsourcing services provider Accenture Plc on Wednesday said that they would cover COVID-19 vaccination costs for their employees in India.
The statement from the two companies come as India’s vaccination campaign started on Monday, with people above the age of 60, and individuals 45 or older suffering from certain medical conditions, now eligible for shots. Earlier, the government said that the vaccines administered at government health facilities will be free, while private facilities cannot charge more than Rs 250 per dose.
“Infosys is looking at partnering with health care providers to vaccinate employees and their immediate families as eligible,” Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The Accenture on the other hand said that the costs for employees and dependents who are eligible and choose to receive the vaccination will be covered.
So far, the government has procured the two COVID-19 vaccines approved in India – AstraZeneca’s shot being developed by the Serum Institute, and local player Bharat Biotech’s COVAXIN – at fixed prices and distributed them free of cost.
Issuing a statement, the Union Health Ministry said that the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 1.63 crore. The ministry also added that a total of 1,63,14,485 vaccine doses have been given, as per the provisional report till 7 pm on Wednesday
These include 67,75,619 HCWs who have taken the first dose and 28,24,311 HCWs who have taken the second dose, 57,62,131 FLWs (first dose), 3,277 FLWs (second dose), 8,44,884 beneficiaries more than 60 years old and 1,04,263 beneficiaries aged 45 and above with specific comorbidities.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with inoculation of healthcare workers (HCWs), while for frontline workers (FLWs) it started from February 2.