Bikano Leads From The Front In Organizing Vaccination Programme For Its Employees

1. India foremost snacks brand organized a vaccination programme for its employees last�month
2. It was an effort to safeguard its employees as well as to strengthen the larger ongoing vaccination drive in the country
3. The programme covered more than 220 employees at the company corporate office and the factories at Greater Noida & Rai
4. The programme was carried out in collaboration with Apollo Hospital, Sharda Hospital & Civil Hospital Sonipat
5. Along with Dr Rakesh Bhati, Emergency Medical Officer, Apollo Hospital, Dr Sulakshanaand, Dr. Pooja Atrey from Sharda Hospital conducted and supervised the event

New Delhi, 31st August 2021: Even as India has shown signs of recovery from the crippling second Covid-19 wave, the country leading packaged snacks brand Bikano organized a vaccination programme for its employees last month. With a view to contribute to the larger Covid-19 vaccination drive underway in the country, the company took the responsibility of vaccinating and thereby securing the health of over 220 of its employees.

The government is providing free vaccination to all age groups except for the kids in the age group of 12-18. However, it is likely that by July-end or August, the vaccination drive for kids will also commence. With this, the broader message that goes out is that the COVID-19 vaccine is not only the most potent way of shielding against the virus, but it is indispensable.

At a time of such great uncertainty and fear, when people are not sure how the pandemic would play out in the coming months, or if there is a third wave coming our way with even more deadly mutants and variants as is being widely discussed in public forums as well as private conversations, getting oneself vaccinated is perhaps the most practicable way of protecting and keeping safe against the deadly virus. Of course, the government has done all that it can to accelerate the pace of vaccination intending to inoculate as many Indians as possible in as little time. However, we understand that there are practical challenges relating to supply, logistics and administration which have hindered the progress of the campaign as desired. As a result, many willing people wanting to be injected as soon as possible have failed to receive their injections. And among them, there were several of our employees who were looking to get the jab, but were not being able to do so due to various reasons. With all that in mind, we took it upon ourselves to make arrangements with hospitals and vaccine manufacturers to ensure that our employees were inoculated well in time and remained in the so-called safe zone. And in this endeavour, Apollo Hospital, Sharda Hospital & Civil Hospital Sonipat have proved to be our valued partners, said Mr Manish Aggarwal, Director, Bikano.

Moreover, as questions of economy and livelihoods compel the authorities to increasingly ease the lockdowns and relax rules on physical mobility, a substantial part of the workforce so far working from home has resumed their regular duties physically from office premises like before. This obviously necessitate full protection for such employees as well as protection of others from them as an asymptomatic person carrying the virus would be a threat to those around him when he steps outdoors. At the same time, vaccinating the employees and bringing some of them to work from office premises or other places as required would also galvanize our business operations and efficiency thereby helping us contribute to the national mission of reviving the economy in a better and more effective way, said Mr. Aggarwal further.

The vaccination programme was conducted in phases - first at the company corporate office on June 7 and then at their Greater Noida factory on June 14, and at Rai factory on 21st June and 28th June. While Apollo Hospital was partnered for the programme at the corporate office, Sharda Hospital was teamed up with for the vaccination initiative at the Greater Noida factory and Civil Hospital for the vaccination drive at Rai factory.