Aboitiz Group Ramps Up Vaccination Of Its Team Members
Aboitiz Eyes
With the surge of the highly transmissible Delta variant in the country, the Aboitiz Group has ramped up the vaccination of its team members, fulfilling its commitment to prioritize their health and safety while ensuring continued operations to keep the economy running towards a ‘better normal.’
Leading by example, SMA also received the vaccine and urged all team members to get vaccinated through the Group’s program.
The COVID-19 Delta variant remains a very real threat. In Aboitiz, our most important priority remains the safety and wellbeing of our team members. Everyone is encouraged to get vaccinated so that we can all be protected together. Let’s do our part in helping our country achieve herd immunity.
—Sabin Aboitiz, President and CEO, Aboitiz Group
Last July 28, the Group began the initial round of vaccinations, marking the first step towards its goal to vaccinate more than 30,000 Aboitiz team members and its subcontractors nationwide. The Group partnered with AC Health and Reliance to maximize their network of partner clinics and sites, and leverage their respective apps to streamline the vaccination process. Multiple vaccination hubs were set up in key cities and provinces such as Taguig, Quezon, Baguio, Batangas, Pampanga, Bicol, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro to ensure that team members can be vaccinated in the areas closest to them and to reduce their risk of exposure when traveling. Through the close collaboration between Aboitiz and AC Health and Reliance, the end-to-end process was efficient and smooth for team members.
Aboitiz team members were all smiles under their masks after getting their shot. Jophie Suplico, a team member from Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) said “I feel very relieved that I have finally received my vaccination from the company after the long wait. I feel more confident now that I have some sort of protection, especially with the Delta variant that has now entered the Philippines. I’m very happy, and I thank the Aboitiz Group for giving me the opportunity to get vaccinated.”
Apart from protecting themselves, Aboitiz team members were also glad they could protect their families and those around them by getting vaccinated. “I’m really happy that my first dose is finally done because it means that I am protected and that our families at home are also protected. I’m also proud to know that I’m one step closer to contributing to herd immunity,” said Joanna Abay, a team member from AEV.
People have always been a priority in the Aboitiz Group’s pandemic response. Zabs Luna-Tan Chong, VP for Corporate Human Resources at AEV highlighted this. “Our commitment to our people has always been evident from the very beginning and in how we handle COVID management as a whole. The way we prioritize communication has also played an important role in our response,” she said.
Tan Chong also shared how the Group has been gearing up to respond to the current threat of the Delta variant. “I truly believe that Aboitiz is ahead in terms of COVID management. For example, we have already formed a separate technical working group to tackle the new issues brought about by the Delta variant. With a variant that is supposedly more deadly, we need a different approach to what we are doing now,” she added.
The Aboitiz Group bought vaccines through a tripartite agreement with the government and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Philippines, Inc. Other subsidiaries such as Pilmico and Aboitiz Construction, Inc. are also set to start their vaccination rollouts in the coming days, through collaborations with their respective health partners.
