Aboitiz-led UnionBank ensures that no one gets left behind with the roll-out of its vaccination program last July 17, 2021 to help protect its over 5,000 employees, including those from its subsidiaries City Savings Bank and UBX.

Frontliners as the priority

The first leg of UnionBank’s COVAX program prioritizes over 20% of its workforce that fall under the A4 category or frontline personnel in the essential sector in the vaccination program.

The Bank ordered a total of 7,000 AstraZeneca and 40,000 Moderna vaccines through the groupwide vaccine procurement made by the Aboitiz Group, in partnership with the Philippine Government.

Agile response to the vaccine delivery delays

The Philippines was greatly affected by the AstraZeneca manufacturing and delivery delays caused by various factors such as the concerns on the side effects and holdup in its Thailand-based plant. As a result, AZ vaccine allotment for the private sector, including that of UnionBank’s, has been delayed.

The Bank originally planned and allotted free AstraZeneca vaccines for its employees. Moderna vaccines are also available for pre-ordering as early as November 2020 for the employees’ family and household members at a rate which covers the complete vaccination package.

The Management was quick to pivot changes, thus the Bank immediately scheduled the kick-off to vaccinate its frontline employees on July 17, 2021.

To fast-track and increase the percentage of inoculated employees, the Bank also forged partnerships with the local government units of Parañaque, Pasig, Taguig, and Quezon City. Its Retail Banking Center Group, one of the client-facing units in the Bank, leveraged its good working relationship with various sectors and spearheaded the group vaccination arrangements for the A4 employees.

Nationwide site assignments

As more Moderna and Astra Zeneca vaccines arrive in the coming weeks and months, the Bank will also roll out its nationwide vaccination in selected sites beginning from the key cities in the Philippines such as NCR+, Cebu, Pampanga, and Davao.

To date, 28% of UnionBank employees are already vaccinated. The Bank still observes a hybrid work set-up with 30% of its employees work on-site and 70% in various locations in the Philippines and neighboring Asian countries.