An Amazon.com Inc employee prepares an order where the buyer has asked to package an item as a gift at a fulfillment center in Shakopee, Minnesota, USA, November 12, 2020.
Amazon.com Inc | Reuters
Amazon is urging frontline workers to have priority access to the Covid-19 vaccine.
Dave Clark, senior vice president of retail at Amazon, sent a letter to a panel at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday asking warehouse workers, data center workers at Amazon Web Services, and Whole Foods employees to “issue the Covid-19-” vaccine at the earliest appropriate time. “
Clark emphasized that Amazon’s frontline workers have played a vital role in helping consumers get the necessary products during the coronavirus pandemic, as local governments told people to stay in and close stores. He added that Amazon employs more than 800,000 people in the US, making it the country’s second-largest employer after Walmart.
“We request the ACIP to continue to prioritize these vital workers who cannot work from home,” Clark wrote, referring to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an outside group of medical experts advising the CDC.
Elsewhere in Silicon Valley, Uber and DoorDash have urged officials to give priority to their drivers when it comes to vaccine distribution. Retail, airline, restaurant and meat packaging companies have also lobbied for priority access.
On December 1, a CDC panel voted to give health professionals and residents of long-term care facilities the first Covid-19 vaccine doses. The panel will soon vote on which groups should be prioritized in the second wave of recipients. Groups expected to be prioritized include vulnerable Americans, including those with underlying conditions, the elderly, and essential workers.
– CNBC’s Bertha Coombs contributed to this article.