Indian companies prepare to buy Covid-19 vaccines for employees

Jindal Steel, Mahindra and ITC are among the firms that are set to purchase Covid-19 vaccines for their employees

Several Indian companies are making plans to buy Covid-19 vaccines for their employees, just days after the country's government began one of the world's largest vaccination drives with healthcare and other frontline workers.

Steel producer Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, autos-to technology conglomerate Mahindra Group and consumer goods giant ITC Ltd have begun initial checks on hopes that vaccines will be available for purchase after the government covers priority segments.

Also Read | Vaccines need not completely stop Covid-19 transmission to curb pandemic

"ITC would certainly like to extend the vaccination to employees... We have approached vaccine manufactures and are in exploratory talks," Amitav Mukherji, head of corporate human resources, said.

India is currently using Britain's Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being produced in India by the Serum Institute, and a government-backed alternative developed by India's Bharat Biotech.

Tata Steel said it would get employees inoculated as soon as shots are available commercially.

Indian factories are recovering from one of the world's strictest lockdown last year, which led to large-scale job losses and migration of workers back to their villages.

Also Read | Jindal Steel in talks to get Covid-19 vaccines for employees

"We are reaching out to vaccine manufacturers for bulk supply of doses and will try to get these doses after completion of all frontline Covid warriors' vaccination," Pankaj Lochan, chief human resource officer, JSPL, said.

The company did not give more details on either the number of doses it plans to buy or with whom it was in talks with.

The world's second-most populous country, India trails only the United States in numbers of Covid-19 infections.

Billionaire Anand Mahindra-led Mahindra Group said it was also interested in buying vaccines for employees "in accordance with the priorities and sequence to be specified by the government".

Also Read | Emirates airline offers Covid-19 vaccines to staff

Global consumer goods giant Unilever last week said it was strongly encouraging employees to get vaccinated as soon as possible and floated the idea that it could buy shots to share with people in poorer countries.

As governments rush to inoculate the most vulnerable, however, most corporations globally have so far been quiet on whether they would seek to secure early supplies for employees.