ICICI Bank has reportedly joined the club of companies including TCS, Accenture, and Reliance to supply the COVID-19 vaccine for its employees and their families for free. This initiative to reimburse the costs of the 2 mandated vaccine shots by the financial services company is aimed at ensuring the health and welfare of its employees and their dependent family members against the virus.

According to Mr. T.K. Srirang, ICICI Bank Team’s Group Chief Human Resources Officer, the company is highly appreciative of the consistent efforts showcased by its employees to ensure business continuity even during the coronavirus pandemic. The private sector bank is set to emerge with renewed strength and continue serving the nation with its financial services and banking products. ICICI considers the health and well-being of the employees as well as their families as its utmost priority and will undertake the free-vaccination drive to safeguard each employee against the COVID-19 disease, Mr. Srirang added.

On 16^th January 2021, India launched its nationwide vaccine drive and inoculated the frontline workers and healthcare professionals in the first phase. Currently, in the second phase, the nation has covered the elderly people of above 60 years as well as adults of over 45 years with comorbidities to get vaccinated. The COVID-19 vaccine is available at all the government hospitals for free, while the private hospitals will charge up to ?250.

Apart from ICICI Bank, other companies that have committed to deliver free vaccines for their employees & their immediate family members include ReNew Power, TVS Motor Company, Flipkart, Capgemini, and Infosys. For instance, on 5^th March 2021, Reliance Industries announced plans to cover the vaccination costs of its employees & their families. For the record, its total employee strength nears 6 lakhs (0.6 million), while the number is expected to reach 1.9 million when the family members are included.

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