Ola to roll out Covid vaccination drive for employees

The vaccination drive will include all Ola employees and dependents, advisors, consultants, and contractual employees

Mobility company Ola said it will cover the Covid-19 vaccination cost for all employees and dependents, as the world continues its fight against the pandemic. This makes SoftBank-backed Ola among the first global mobility companies to announce a Covid vaccination drive.

The vaccination drive will also be extended to all the direct contractual employees, consultants, advisors of the company and their immediate dependents including spouse, kids and parents, comprising more than 24,000 people. 

“At Ola, we prioritize the health and well-being of not only our employees and their loved ones but also our extended family who work directly with us including advisors and consultants,” said Varun Dubey, Ola spokesperson. 

“While this vaccine is voluntary, it is also one of the most effective tools to fight against Covid-19. As the Government gears up for the next phase of the vaccination drive, we encourage all our employees and their families to opt for the vaccine and fight against Covid-19."

Ola's rival Uber recently offered free rides worth Rs 10 crore that can be utilised by Covid-19 vaccine beneficiaries to reach their nearest vaccination centre.

The Covid vaccination drive will be over and above Ola’s existing medical insurance policy. The company is partnering with relevant authorities to conduct the vaccination drive. The vaccination will be offered on a voluntary basis. Ola will provide requisite infrastructure and logistics for the vaccination with the drive being conducted across all the geographies it operates globally.

Ola will start extending end-to-end support to those applicable starting with the ones above the age of 60 and those over 45 with co-morbidities. It will expand this process to include the rest as soon as the government rolls out the next phase of the vaccination drive.

Ola said it has played an integral role in Covid protection in the workforce. It had set up a Covid Action Task Force last year to undertake multiple precautionary measures to ensure the safety and well-being of all employees. It has installed technologies such as thermal sensing camera, AI-based face mask identification, smartphone-based entry and exit system. The firm has also been actively conducting smart sample testing on a regular basis to curb the potential spread of the virus.