BENGALURU :
As India ramps up its Covid-19 vaccination drive, IT major Infosys Ltd and consulting and outsourcing services provider Accenture Plc announced on Wednesday that they would cover COVID-19 vaccination costs for their employees in India.
India’s vaccination campaign ramped up on Monday, with people above the age of 60, and individuals 45 or older suffering from certain medical conditions, now eligible for shots.
Vaccines administered at government health facilities will still be free, while private facilities cannot charge more than ₹250 per dose, the government had said earlier.
“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, according to Reuters.
For Accenture, costs for employees and dependents who are eligible and choose to receive the vaccination will be covered, the company said.
So far, the federal 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.
More than 1.48 crores doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered till Tuesday. Out of this, 2.08 lakh doses have been given to people who are 45 years to 59 years of age with comorbidities & people with above 60 years of age.
Several Indian companies, including autos-to-technology conglomerate Mahindra Group and consumer goods giant ITC Ltd , had already started considering buying COVID-19 vaccines for their employees as early as in January.
