Apple to offer employees COVID-19 vaccinations at offices

Apple through a new partnership with Walgreens Boots Alliance will be offering employees the opportunity to voluntarily get vaccinated at the tech giant’s offices. 

An Apple spokeswoman told Reuters that the company plans on launching a website for its workers to sign up for appointments. 

While Apple said last month that it did not have access to vaccines to provide workers direct access to the shots, the new program has been enabled by increased vaccine supply in California and other places across the country. 

The Hill has reached out to Apple for additional information on the plans. 

Apple last month began offering paid time off to employees to get vaccinated, as well as paid sick leave for workers who experienced side effects from the shots. 

The efforts come as CEO Tim Cook hopes to get more staff back in-person at Apple’s corporate offices as early as June. 

However, he acknowledged while announcing plans to staff in December, “We have also learned a great deal about how we can get our work done outside of the office without sacrificing productivity or results.”

Apple last year had begun offering employees unlimited paid leave if they developed coronavirus symptoms, as well as testing for employees working at its headquarters. 

Apple’s vaccination partnership with Walgreens makes it one of the first Silicon Valley companies to launch such a program for employees. 

Amazon last month began offering onsite vaccinations for its frontline employees in Missouri, Nevada and Kansas. 

Earlier this month, Deutsche Bank AG announced it would offer coronavirus vaccinations to employees at its offices, making it the first big New York bank to do so.