Shell to roll out COVID-19 vaccination program for employees and their households, retirees

Shell companies in the Philippines (SciP) announced that it will launch a nationwide vaccination program that will be extended beyond its regular employees to help achieve herd immunity.

Led by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (PSPC), the group purchased 42,000 doses of Covovax vaccines from Unilab, Inc. scheduled to be rolled out from August to November 2021.

This program—initiated by the PSPC, Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX), Shell Business Operations (SBO)-Manila, Shell Energy Philippines including Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc. (PSFI) and Shell Employees Savings and Loan Association (SESLA) — is expected to cover 5,000 full-time SciP employees, their nominated household members as well as members of Shell Club 15 retirees.

According to PSPC, a “Shell Vaccination Day” will be organized in key company facilities and other sites accessible to target recipients nationwide. Recipients of the vaccine will be scheduled to ensure that welfare and productivity is maintained, with the dates to be disseminated via a digital platform.

Pilipinas Shell Country Health Manager Dr. Rose Rivera shared that the inoculation rollout will comply with the government’s prioritization framework.

Those who will be first in line will be senior citizens (classified as A2, in this case Shell retirees), followed by A3 (adults with comorbidities), then A4 (frontline personnel in essential sectors), adding that its the employees’ household members are also included in the vaccination program, she adds.

They also said that aside from the aforementioned, the program will also be catering to around 16,000 forecourt service champions (FSC) — those serving over 1,100 Shell mobility sites nationwide — to enhance the safety of some one million customers who visit Shell mobility sites daily.

While this is the case, members of the Shell FSC are still encouraged seek vaccination via their respective local government units (LGU).

Moreover, PSPC revealed that “Shell worked with the Department of Energy to accelerate FSCs from B3 category to A4 in the priority list... this is supported by Shell’s Good Jab Campaign to educate, encourage and monitor their vaccination status,” the statement claimed.

PSPC Vice President for Retail Business Randy del Valle said that the decision to include frontliners is a no-brainer as these are those who regularly interact with customers, “who need to ensure that it is safe to visit our mobility sites to get fuel or food or services for vehicle care and maintenance in the middle of this pandemic.”

For his part, Pilipinas Shell President and CEO Cesar Romero said that they are focused on ensuring the welfare of employees and their families.

“We are committed to making COVID-19 vaccines available to our employees and extended workforce not only for their safety and protection, but also because by extension, we provide a safe environment for customers who access our products and services via our mobility sites, as well as contractors and suppliers who help us operate our facilities and terminals nationwide,” Romero was quoted as saying.

“Powering progress for the Filipino in the midst of the pandemic also means that we do our part in helping the country reach the numbers needed in terms of vaccinations to reach herd immunity so that we can start our economic recovery sooner rather than later,” he added.

Moreover, Pilipinas Shell will coordinate with the Department of Health (DOH), LGU and its stakeholders to have the vaccines administered safely by competent and professional vaccination teams in compliance with standard health guidelines and protocols.

Photos from Pilipinas Shell

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