Amazon.com Inc. has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to give priority to its workers as vaccinations for Covid-19 begin to roll out.
In a letter to a CDC vaccine-advisory panel Wednesday, the retail company requested that its front-line workers at its warehouses, data centers and Whole Foods Market grocery stores receive the vaccine “at the earliest appropriate time.” Amazon wrote that it employs more than 800,000 people in the U.S., making it the nation’s second-largest employer behind Walmart Inc.
“We are proud of the role that our essential employees have played this year to help our customers stay safe and receive important products at their home,” wrote Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of world-wide operations. “We request that [the CDC panel] continue to prioritize these essential workers who cannot work from home.”
Amazon’s request follows similar ones made by executives in the food, restaurant, aviation and utility industries, who have argued that their employees are critical in making the economy function and face a higher risk of exposure to the virus.
Front-line health workers and residents of long-term care facilities are among the first to receive the vaccine, which began rolling out Monday in the U.S. Other high-risk populations, including essential workers such as teachers and police and those with underlying health conditions, are expected to be next in line.
