U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 20, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Amazon on Wednesday offered to help with 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 stands ready to assist you in reaching your goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of your administration,” Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of retail operations, wrote in the letter, which was first reported on by Reuters.
Clark said Amazon stands ready to leverage its operations, information technology and communications capabilities and expertise to “assist your administration’s vaccination efforts.” He added that Amazon has reached an agreement with a third-party health care provider to administer vaccines on-site at the company’s warehouses.
The letter comes as Amazon has been vying for its front-line workers to have priority access to the Covid-19 vaccine. Last month, Clark wrote to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel asking that the company’s front-line employees “receive the Covid-19 vaccine at the earliest appropriate time.” Clark also emphasized that Amazon’s front-line workers have played an essential role in helping consumers get necessary products delivered to their homes during the coronavirus pandemic.
Here’s the full letter Clarke 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 stands ready to assist you in reaching your goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of your administration.
As the nation’s second largest employer, Amazon has over 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 to help customers stay safe and received important products and services at home, which is critical for people with underlying medical conditions and those susceptible to complications from Covid-19. The essential employees working at Amazon fulfillment centers, AWS data centers, and Whole Foods Market stores across the country who cannot work from home should receive the Covid-19 vaccine at the earliest appropriate time. We will assist them in that effort.
We have an agreement in place with a licensed third-party occupational health care provider to administer vaccines on-site at our Amazon facilities. We are prepared to move quickly once vaccines are available. Additionally, we are prepared to leverage our operations, information technology and communications capabilities and expertise to assist your administration’s vaccination efforts. Our scale allows us to make a meaningful impact immediately in the fight against Covid-19, and we stand ready to assist you in this 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 a we work together to protect our employees and continue to provide essential services during the pandemic.
Sincerely,
Dave Clark
CEO, Worldwide Consumer