Amazon to fund Covid-19 jabs for one million Indians as cases hit record high

India has surpassed Brazil as the world's second-hardest-hit country, behind the US

Amazon India will cover the cost of Covid-19 vaccinations for more than one million people, including employees and sellers, as cases reach all-time highs in the South Asian country.

Now at over 168,000 cases and 900 deaths daily, India has surpassed Brazil globally as the second-worst-hit state – just after the US.

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“Amazon India will cover the Covid-19 vaccination cost for not only all its India employees and associates but will also cover the costs for operations partner network ecosystem of Delivery Service Partner associates, including Amazon Flex drivers, I Have Space store partners, trucking partners and also their eligible dependents,” the company said on Monday.

Amazon India said the benefit will also be available to all sellers on Amazon.in with an active listing since last year.

India, which is producing its own vaccine, has administered over 100 million doses in 85 days, its health ministry announced.

Manufactured by Bharat Biotech, Covaxin was approved for emergency use in January with an efficacy rate of 81 per cent, according to the company's preliminary data. The British Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is also being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, at a rate of 50 million doses a month.

More business leaders are working with the government in India to vaccinate their employees as opposed to imposing lockdown measures that might hurt their business.

India is in the depths of a ‘second wave’ of Covid-19 infections after cases slowed significantly from November to early March.

Malls, theatres, restaurants and most markets have been closed in many state-imposed lockdowns.

Fearing these measures could leave them jobless, Indian migrant workers are looking for informal work opportunities outside of major cities.

Most of these 400 million workers earn about $100 to $150 a month, with little to no savings or job security.

India’s economy is also at an all-time low since its independence from Britain in 1947, with GDP contracting by 24.4 per cent in 2020.