U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the Western Front of the United States Capitol in Washington on January 20, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Amazon on Wednesday offered to help the national effort to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine, according to a letter to President Joe Biden, obtained by CNBC.
“When you begin your work to get out of the Covid-19 crisis country, Amazon is ready to help you reach your goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of your administration,” he said. Dave Clark, CEO of the global consumer of Amazon business, wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Reuters.
Clark said Amazon is ready to leverage its operations, information technology and communications capabilities and experience to “help your administration’s vaccination efforts.” He added that Amazon has reached an agreement with an external medical service provider to administer vaccines in situ at the company’s warehouses.
The letter comes when Amazon has been fighting for its front-line workers to have priority access to the Covid-19 vaccine. Last month, Clark wrote to a panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asking that the company’s front-line employees “receive the Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible.” Clark also noted that Amazon’s front-line workers have played a key role in helping consumers get the products they need at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Here is the full letter Clark sent to Biden on Wednesday:
Dear President Biden,
Congratulations to you and Vice President Harris on your inauguration. When you begin your work to get out of the Covid-19 crisis country, Amazon is ready to help you reach your goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of your administration.
As the second largest national 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 Covid-19 complications. Essential employees working at Amazon compliance centers, AWS data centers, and Whole Foods Market stores across the country who cannot work from home should receive the Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible. We will help them in this effort.
We have an agreement with a third party licensed healthcare provider to administer vaccines on site at our Amazon facility. We are ready to move quickly once vaccines are available. In addition, we are prepared to leverage our operations, information technology, and communications capabilities and experience to assist your administration’s vaccination efforts. Our scale allows us to have a significant impact immediately on the fight against Covid-19, and we are ready to assist you in this endeavor.
Since the beginning of this crisis, we have worked hard to protect our workers. We are committed to assisting your administration’s vaccination efforts and working together to protect our employees and continue to provide essential services during the pandemic.
Yours faithfully,
Dave Clark
CEO, Worldwide Consumer