US President Joe Biden speaks during the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the US Capitol in Washington on January 20, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Amazon offered on Wednesday to assist in the national effort to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine, according to a letter addressed to President Joe Biden, which was obtained by CNBC.
“As you begin your work leading the country out of the Covid-19 crisis, Amazon is ready to help you achieve your goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of your administration,” Dave Clark, Amazon’s CEO world consumer business, he wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Reuters.
Clark said Amazon is ready to leverage its operations, information technology and communication and experience capabilities to “assist its administration’s vaccination efforts.” He added that Amazon struck a deal with a third-party healthcare provider to administer vaccines on-site at the company’s warehouses.
The letter comes at a time when Amazon is competing for its frontline employees to have priority access to the Covid-19 vaccine. Last month, Clark wrote to a panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calling on the company’s frontline employees “to receive the Covid-19 vaccine at the appropriate time.” Clark also emphasized that Amazon’s frontline employees played an essential role in helping consumers deliver the necessary products to their homes during the coronavirus pandemic.
Here is the complete letter that Clark sent to Biden on Wednesday:
Dear President Biden,
Congratulations to you and Vice President Harris on your inauguration. As you begin your work leading the country out of the Covid-19 crisis, Amazon is ready to help you achieve your goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of your administration.
As the country’s second largest employer, Amazon has more than 800,000 employees in the United States, most of whom are essential workers who cannot work from home. We are proud of the role our employees have played in helping customers stay safe and receive important products and services at home, which is critical for people with underlying medical conditions and susceptible to complications caused by Covid-19. Essential employees working at Amazon distribution centers, AWS data centers and Whole Foods Market stores across the country who cannot work from home should get the Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible. We will help you in this effort.
We have a contract in place with a licensed third-party occupational health provider to administer vaccines on-site at our Amazon facilities. We are prepared to act quickly as soon as vaccines are available. In addition, we are prepared to leverage our operations, information technology and communication and experience capabilities to assist your administration’s vaccination efforts. Our scale allows us to make a significant impact immediately in the fight against Covid-19, and we are ready to assist you in that effort.
Since the beginning of this crisis, we have worked hard to keep our workers safe. We are committed to assisting your administration’s vaccination efforts and work together to protect our employees and continue to provide essential services during the pandemic.
Regards,
Dave Clark
CEO, world consumer