Wipro rolls out 'COVID-19 vaccination camps' in India to keep staff alive during virus super-surge

We speak to IT outsourcing giants as human malware grips nation

India's big tech companies have mobilized to protect their workforces as the nation experiences a terrifying second wave of COVID-19.

Wipro told The Register it has "initiated COVID vaccination camps at one of our facilities for Bangalore-based employees and are making necessary efforts to roll out vaccination camps across other major offices in India."

The IT consulting multinational's vaccine effort aligns with a call from the Confederation of Indian Industry. On Monday the Delhi-based non-governmental trade association and advocacy group said [PDF] big business should help to confront the pandemic by advising staff on how best to stay safe. They also advised industry to voluntarily "ramp up vaccination of employees and as vaccine availability improves extend vaccination drives to neighboring communities."

The confederation "urges industry for voluntary measures to break the chain of transmission" by enabling work from home. The advocacy group cited outsourcers Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services as having done so already.

Uttar Pradesh-based HCL Technologies told The Register 98 per cent of the IT multinational's employees are working from home as of last week.

"We continue to follow the various state government guidelines and advise our employees accordingly and are abiding by all the government protocols related to workplace safety and vaccination program for the eligible individuals," HCL told The Register.

The company later described to The Register its method of keeping its employees informed of COVID-19 issues:

HCL's dedicated COVID-19 portal has been adding value as the single point of access for any emergency, which has been enhanced with additional information on safety, support facilities and resources.

India's COVID-19 cases surpassed 20 million on Tuesday, according to data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The subcontinent continues to face severe shortages of medical supplies as it reaches over 222,000 recorded deaths. ®