Airtel extends free vaccination programme for nearly 80,000 staff of partner, details 

Telecom company Airtel is extending the free vaccination programme to nearly 80,000 employees of over 15,000 partners and the distributors to prioritise inoculation of the central staff such as store and field service executive in the severe second wave of the pandemic.

Airtel has partnered with Apollo Hospitals to vaccinate its workers and their dependent family members. The programme is underway, with the camps being set up in 35 cities across India. The telecom is bearing the cost of the vaccination drive.

Sources said the free vaccination drive would cover around 80,000 employees of over 15,000 partners .

“These employees will be able to get themselves vaccinated at special camps being organised by Airtel at 35 locations across India,” said a note by Airtel Circle CEO.

Alternately, the frontline staff of partner networks can get vaccinated on their own, with Airtel reimbursing the amount on submission of the vaccination certificate and the original invoice.

“I would request you to urge your employees to take full benefit of this initiative and ensure the safety of everyone around us,” Airtel claimed.

“Team Airtel has ensured that millions of Indians can work, children can study and people can consult doctors online from the safety of their homes,” Airtel added.

This would not have happened without the collective efforts by partners, especially the frontline staff, the telco said, adding that distributors were an vital part of the Airtel family.

“We have always gone the extra mile to care for our partners, who are an integral part of the Airtel family. This year, we extended a special COVID insurance cover to all frontline associates and partner employees, including Airtel store staff and field sales executives, who are out there serving customers,” it added.

Remote working and social distancing norms were being implemented since the start of the pandemic, have driven data usage to new highs, pushing the telecom operators to aggressively invest in network capacities.