Major employers, from the meat packaging industry to airlines and pharmaceutical companies, are getting permission from public health officials to administer Covid-19 vaccines, hoping to speed up the vaccination of their employees.
Many companies consider giving vaccine doses to employees at work as a way to vaccinate staff effectively, but are thus participating in a race for rare shots.
The pharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc. started giving lectures at the head office in Northern Chicago, according to people familiar with the dose, giving preference to those over 65 and then workers in the manufacturing and manufacturing sectors. Abbott Laboratories has also started delivering doses at its nearby headquarters to eligible workers, such as those in manufacturing, food services and day care, a spokesman said, and Tyson Foods Inc. has doses to staff at its Joslin, Illinois, beef cattle plant and to some workers in Iowa, a spokesman said.
Other large companies registered to deliver doses include energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp., the meat packer Smithfield Foods Inc. and the manufacturers of machinery Caterpillar Inc. and Deere & Co. in, according to Illinois health records. Some of the companies manage or intend to provide closed opportunities for vaccination, which means that only their own staff are eligible, not the general public. Sites are dependent on state and local public health authorities for dose allocation.
Money manager Fidelity Investments has registered to deliver doses at its Boston headquarters and will begin firing on workers over the age of 65 if it receives vaccines from Massachusetts, a spokesman said. A third-party health and wellness company will provide the photos according to the state’s priority guidelines.