In an effort to make COVID-19 vaccines accessible to underprivileged Americans, Uber Technologies Inc, PayPal Holdings Inc, and Walgreens Inc confirmed on Monday that they will be launching a joint $11 million Vaccine Access Fund to provide free trips to coronavirus vaccination centers so that Americans who lack access to transportation can receive their COVID-19 vaccines.
This fund will be managed by the U.S. non-profit Local Initiatives Support Corporation, which has undertaken the task of identifying communities that require assistance in the form of transport to and from vaccination centers. In addition to welcoming corporate donors, the companies revealed on Monday that consumers can contribute to the fund by making donations via PayPal and the Uber app.
In addition to supporting the Vaccine Access Fund, ride-hailing company Uber also launched its own initiative to provide 10 million free or discounted rides to vaccination centers across the globe.
The decision to form a Vaccine Access Fund was largely spurred on by the enormous lack of transportation that has been found to heavily affect low-income communities across the United States. This issue is particularly prominent in communities that have minimal access to public transport systems and low car ownership rates.
