The SM Group said it was able to vaccinate most of its eligible employees just weeks after the arrival of the vaccines it ordered.
The company ordered more than half a million doses of vaccines for its employees and for donation to the national government.
The company’s units include holding firm SM Investments Corp., shopping mall operator SM Prime Holdings Inc., SM Retail Inc., BDO Unibank Inc., China Banking Corp. and portfolio companies such as 2GO Group Inc., Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. and Goldilocks Bakeshop.
The company led by the Sy family was able to inoculate 94 percent of its workforce, it said.
“Our goal is to support broad vaccination efforts and not just to focus on our own people or those connected with our business. We are here for the good of the community and to support vaccination as a national priority,” Frederic C. DyBuncio, SMIC president and CEO, said.
Lender BDO was among the pioneers in the private sector to source vaccines and provided vaccines through a tripartite agreement it signed with the government and vaccine manufacturers, while SM malls teamed up with Go Negosyo to open shared vaccination sites for around 300 small and medium firms with more than 170,000 employees as part of Go Negosyo’s “A Dose of Hope” program.
In addition, over 3.3 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in 69 malls around the country that have been used as vaccination hubs by various local government units. Pasay, for instance, has partnered with SM to open one of the country’s largest vaccination sites at The Galeon at the Mall of Asia which could accommodate over 3,000 individuals daily.