Zomato, Swiggy Begin COVID-19 Vaccination Drive for Delivery Partners

Zomato and Swiggy have started a COVID-19 vaccination drive in India for their delivery partners. Zomato Founder Deepinder Goyal tweeted that the company launched the drive in the National Capital Region (NCR) last week and is expanding to Bengaluru and Mumbai on Saturday. Swiggy has begun the drive in Bengaluru. Both companies claim that thousands of their delivery workers are already vaccinated. Just like Zomato and Swiggy, companies including Amazon, Flipkart, and Uber recently announced initiatives to vaccinate their delivery fleet in the midst of the coronavirus spread in the country.

Through a series of tweets posted on Friday, Goyal said Zomato is facilitating a free COVID-19 vaccination drive for its more than 150,000 frontline staff and employees. The Gurugram-based company, in partnership with healthcare provider Max Healthcare, is aiming to expand vaccination after NCR, Bengaluru, and Mumbai to more cities next week.

Zomato was also covering the vaccination cost if its delivery partners get vaccinated on their own to incentivise them to find a slot in their vicinity, the executive said.

Goyal's tweets came just hours after Zomato's biggest competitor Swiggy announced a similar vaccination drive. The Bengaluru-headquartered company said in a statement that it had started the drive for its delivery partners, and the frontline staff of its grocery delivery service Instamart and its branded kitchens in accordance with the vaccination guidelines of the government.

Swiggy said that it would enable quick and free vaccine access and cover the loss of pay for the period the delivery workers spend in getting both the doses. The company would also cover the loss of pay if a worker chooses to get vaccinated at a government facility.

Both Zomato and Swiggy claimed that they are aiming to cover all their delivery partners and frontline staff in the next few weeks.

Swiggy additionally said that all its delivery workers and their families had been provided with free 24x7 access to doctors via telemedicine for doubts and queries related to vaccines, safety measures, and early assessment. The company also said that it is working with authorities and health care partners to prioritise COVID-19 vaccine for delivery partners as part of the nation's essential service providers.

Both Zomato and Swiggy also said that they would start notifying customers on the vaccination status of their delivery workers through their apps.