Jabs for delivery execs: Health dept to talk to e-commerce cos

New Delhi: The Delhi government's Department of Health and Family Welfare has now been directed to reach out to e-commerce firms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy and others so that delivery executives working throughout the pandemic can be vaccinated expeditiously, especially in light of the "extra risk" faced by them.

The direction came from the office of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is also the Capital's Nodal Minister for Covid-19 management.

Delhi has received vaccines for the 18-44 years age group and has begun vaccination drives for this segment of the population, a Delhi government statement quoting Sisodia said. "Those working as delivery persons are an important demography that we now need to focus on," he said.

The deputy chief minister on Thursday directed the Health Department to partner with e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy and Dunzo to ensure vaccination of the delivery persons working with them, the statement said.

The delivery persons are making sure that people stay in their homes and avoid crowding markets, and so they should be vaccinated at the earliest, Sisodia said. "They are at an extra risk as their job involves travelling home-to-home and interacting with multiple persons throughout the day," Sisodia noted.

Home delivery of essential items like medicines was allowed by the authorities even during the lockdown in April and May amid the second wave of COVID 19.

Significantly, with the Centre's vaccination policy allowing the private sector to purchase 25 per cent of India's vaccine manufacturing capacity, several of these e-commerce companies have on their own started purchasing vaccines for their delivery executives and administering them.

Currently, vaccination of all age groups, except those below 18 years, is underway in Delhi although the city government has maintained that the vaccines are in short supply.