COVID vaccination: Colorbar, Viridian Group, Narayana Health do their bit

Colorbar, the Indian beauty brand, organised a three-day vaccination drive in association with Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, for its employees and their dependents. The drive covered the staff of Godfrey Phillips, 24Seven, Colorbar, Modicare and Modicare Foundation. Approximately, 1500 employees and their dependents were vaccinated at the camp under strict safety measures.

A COVID-19 help centre, called COVID Sahayak, was set up to reach out to and help COVID-positive employees and their family members. These ‘Sahayaks’ comprise employees who have recovered from COVID. They were able to help other employees navigate the challenges brought on by the infection. A WhatsApp support group was created to keep track of all the employees and those suffering from COVID. The top management team was also a part of this group, which supported the employees and helped them with their requirements, such as ambulance, hospital, critical drugs, oxygen and Covid-19 testing support.

Colorbar has a doctor-on-call for all the employees. Daily Fresh meals are also being delivered to the employees and family members who are COVID positive. The employees who test positive are allowed to take as many leaves as is necessary to recover, as
per the new COVID leave policy. All employees, including third-party staff,
have been covered under the COVID insurance too

Samir Modi, founder and MD, Colorbar Cosmetics, says, “It’s always people first for us at Colorbar and these are some of the many little things one can do to keep and safeguard our work families.”

Viridian Group, in collaboration with Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, has organised
a free vaccination drive for its employees and their family members at its Delhi office. More than 150 people from 18 to 44 and 45+ age group were inoculated with the Covishield vaccine.

As Anuj Bhandari, head – applied research, Viridian Group, rightly puts it, “The only way to win this fight is to get vaccinated and maintain COVID appropriate behaviour.” That is why, the Company is aiming to get its “staff and their immediate family members vaccinated as soon as possible.”

However, the vaccination for the 18-44 age groups has been slow in most states due to vaccine constraints and difficulty in getting slots.

The Group organised vaccination camps at its different project sites as well, that is, WTC Chandigarh and WTC GIFT City. In collaboration with Dr B R Ambedkar State Institute of Medical College, around 130+ staff members, security personnel, labourers, and their family members got vaccinated at the site of WTC Chandigarh. In WTC GIFT City, the Company organized the camp in association with a government hospital where 35 people were vaccinated including site labour, security staff, and so on. Till now, about 350 people have been vaccinated through the vaccination drives across the sites.

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, Narayana Health, the Indian healthcare chain, in association with GiveIndia, the Indian online giving platform, has announced a free COVID-19 vaccination drive across the city. The initiative will start by inoculating 2,000 people in its first phase and expand to a wider population of migrant labourers, underprivileged and underserved sections of the society across India. The programme was flagged off by Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, founder and chairman, Narayana Health, and Atul Satija, CEO and founder 2.0, GiveIndia.

A #GetOneGiveOne vaccination drive was also launched to ensure free and faster access to vaccines for underprivileged citizens. Through #GetOneGiveOne, vaccine recipients at Narayana Health can donate a vaccine dose to someone in need. Corporates will also be encouraged to donate for every employee they get vaccinated through Narayana Health.

Talking about the initiative, Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, founder & chairman, Narayana Health, said, “Vaccination is the cheapest and most effective way to protect the country against Covid-19. A poor family of four will find it expensive to get everyone vaccinated in a private hospital and awaiting their turn might endanger their health and livelihoods. When you get your vaccine, please think about donating another vaccine to GiveIndia’s #GetOneGiveOne campaign. GiveIndia will work with Narayana Health to bring free vaccines to the doorstep of those in need – like young daily wagers who cannot afford to wait for their turn”.

Satija hopes “to achieve greater coverage across both urban and rural areas and protect the most vulnerable from the pandemic.”