Will Shanklin
Apple is launching a program that will allow the iPhone maker's employees receive COVID-19 vaccinations at Apple offices.
Apple is working with Walgreens Boots Alliance, the parent company of Walgreens pharmacies, to implement the program, according to Bloomberg. Although Apple had previously told staff that it didn't have access to vaccines, the Walgreens partnership will now allow it to administer shots on campus.
The firm is rolling out a website allowing staff to sign up for on-campus COVID-19 vaccine shots.
Apple hasn't yet asked remote-work employees to return to Apple Park or the firm's other offices. It also hasn't announced a return date. However, while an imminent return is not mandatory for using the program, it could encourage more staff to resume work in their physical offices.
Some "mission-critical staff" have been working in Apple's offices throughout the pandemic. A portion of Apple's engineers have also been back in the office for months, though only in limited hours.
In March, Apple offered paid time off for employees to receive the vaccine.
California has expanded its vaccine availability lately, with all of the state's citizens now eligible. The Bloomberg report didn't mention whether staff at the company's Austin, TX campus, Apple retail locations, or other offices qualify for the vaccine initiative.
More than half of American adults have received at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccine. All U.S. adults are now eligible, meeting the April 19 deadline that President Biden set in early April.
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2 Comments
I wish other countries would make the vaccine available in more than just a few places. Here where I live only certain public medical centers give the vaccines, though 3 or 4 were added recently, and the result is that to date only 7% of the population has gotten the second vaccine. Great idea by Walgreens and Apple to make the vaccine available on site.
The USPTO has really failed at its mission to disallow obvious patents. Patents should be for non-obvious working inventions not something obvious like "you can use a smart device to do something you were doing with a pencil and paper".