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“As long as it’s a backdoor to do it using our own government, we shouldn’t view this with optimism, but we should be very worried,” he said.
An Amazon spokesperson dismissed the idea that the company’s offering was driven by a desire to gain competitive power or generate good publicity. The spokesperson, noting that Amazon made a similar offer to states last month, said it was a matter of public responsibility for companies to help with the health crisis.
“There are things that we will need to do as a country to get through this pandemic and that includes lending our experience and expertise on things like logistics and the testing program that we have built,” said the spokesperson.
It’s unclear how seriously the new White House takes Amazon’s offer, which a spokesperson for the company says is still being finalized. A White House official, when asked about the administration’s perspective, noted that the vaccination effort represents a “huge challenge” that will require “the public, private and nonprofit sectors to work together to provide the solutions we need on the scale we need. “
Amazon’s offer comes as Biden officials say they are scrambling to fix a vaccine delivery system they inherited from the Trump administration. Jeff Zients, Biden’s Covid-19 coordinator, complained this week that officials have limited ability to monitor vaccine allocations and distribution. Biden has pledged to mount a strong federal vaccination effort after former President Donald Trump pushed most of the work on states, which say they have little information on the country’s vaccine supply.
In Amazon’s letter to Biden, Global COO Dave Clark said the company scale “allows us to have a significant impact immediately in the fight against COVID-19.” The company, Clark wrote, is “ready to leverage our operations, information technology, communications capabilities and expertise to aid your administration’s immunization efforts.”
It’s a potentially attractive offer, some say. Nancy Foster, vice president of patient safety and quality policy for the nation’s largest hospital lobby, the American Hospital Association, said the vaccination effort needs more “management expertise. significant logistical challenges ”.
“We welcome announcements like this from Amazon which will help get more hugs across the country,” Foster said.
The Trump administration has hired large companies to help distribute vaccines. He contracted with UPS and FedEx to handle ground transportation, American Airlines on air cargo, and McKesson for the distribution of Moderna’s shot. Experts said a government collaboration with Amazon could prove beneficial if the company addresses existing gaps in the supply chain.
Other corporate giants joined the vaccination effort this week. In Washington state, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee has partnered with Starbucks, Microsoft, Costco and others to help with the state’s rollout. Amazon is also opening a pop-up vaccination site at its Seattle headquarters on Sunday, with the goal of administering 2,000 vaccines.
Amazon spokesman said the company’s internal Covid-19 testing sites could serve as vaccination centers. There are currently more than 650 employees at the company, the spokesperson said, with the ability to test up to 50,000 employees per day.
Some critics have emphasized that any federal government deal with Amazon should be carefully considered – and in the absence of details, some have seen potential landmines. Tech keepers warn Amazon’s offer of help comes just two months after an online pharmacy launched after years of speculation in that market.
Michelle Kuppersmith, executive director of Campaign for Accountability, a corporate watchdog group, said she was concerned about how Amazon would use information from a vaccination effort.
“Amazon is a company that has already amassed an unprecedented amount of data on Americans and we have no idea how it would handle the data gleaned from the vaccine distribution,” she said.
Some Amazon critics have said they see the company’s offer to Biden as an attempt to bolster Washington’s backing, as the company and the tech industry as a whole face increasing scrutiny. careful about their business practices, including their use of user data.
“This is Amazon’s attempt to win favor with the Democrats and push the idea that its inordinate power is something we should embrace,” said Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Advocacy Group. Local Self-Reliance for Sustainable Community Development, which followed vaccine distribution efforts at the local level.
Other critics are skeptical that Amazon’s offering will be substantial.
“This is a government function,” said Alex Harman of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. “It may require partnerships here and there, it may involve the requisitioning of private resources on occasion, but doing the logistics and determining the logistics is what government is for.
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