Infosys to cover COVID-19 vaccination cost for employees and immediate family

Name: Infosys to cover COVID-19 vaccination cost for employees and immediate family
Uploaded: 2021-03-03T15:25:06+05:30
Description: Infosys is looking at partnering with healthcare providers to vaccinate employees and their immediate families as eligible under the guidelines given by the government, the company said.

Infosys is looking at partnering with healthcare providers to vaccinate employees and their immediate families as eligible under the guidelines given by the government, the company said.

Chandra R Srikanth

March 06, 2021 / 00:32 IST

Software major Infosys will cover the COVID-19 vaccination cost for its employees and their immediate family, and is currently looking to partner with healthcare providers for the same.

“Infosys is looking at partnering with healthcare providers to vaccinate employees and their immediate families as eligible under the guidelines given by the Government of India and as per approved procedures and timelines. Infosys will cover the vaccination cost for the employee and immediate family as part of our focus on health and wellness,” Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys, said in a statement in response to queries sent by Moneycontrol.

When COVID-19 struck early last year, Infosys was able to make its 2.4 lakh employees spread across 40 countries work from home in days. Like most of its peers, a majority of its employees continue to work from home.

Earlier, software consulting major Accenture too said it would cover the cost of vaccination for its employees and their dependants.

“For employees who are eligible and choose to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, Accenture will cover the cost for the employee and their dependents who are part of our medical benefits programme. We are grateful to our people for their patience and resilience as we work together to manage through these extraordinary times," said Rekha M. Menon, Chairperson and Senior Managing Director, Accenture in India, in a statement.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show

Infosys to cover COVID-19 vaccination cost for employees and immediate family

Infosys is looking at partnering with healthcare providers to vaccinate employees and their immediate families as eligible under the guidelines given by the government, the company said.

Related stories