COVID Vaccination: Oil Ministry Recommends To Include Petrol Pump Staff, Managers, Owners For Getting Vaccine On Priority

New Delhi/Pune, 19th March 2021: All India Petroleum Dealers Association (AIPDA) was successful in convincing the oil ministry to include petrol pump-staff, managers, and owners for getting the Covid-19 vaccination. Following this, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has recommended vaccinating frontline workers in the oil sector on priority against the COVID-19.

According to officials, the Oil Ministry has forwarded a request from oil companies and associations to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

The oil ministry stated “These frontline workers had braved the intense first wave of the pandemic and ensured uninterrupted fuel supplies to the country”

Employees at petrol pumps, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG or cooking gas) dealerships, and oil and gas exploration companies were working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. The ministry said these frontline workers had braved the intense first wave of the pandemic and ensured uninterrupted fuel supplies to the country. They were also lauded as Corona Warriors and Union Ministers had recognised their efforts. But these oil sector frontline workers have not been included in the priority list for vaccinations till now. The vaccination drive has so far included medical personnel, frontline workers like police staff, patients with comorbidities above 45, and everyone above 60.

“This has demoralised staffers who feel that they should also be vaccinated with other Corona Warriors. A larger number of our employees are below 45 and currently out of the vaccination eligibility criteria. Those who are in direct contact with consumers such as the petrol pump attendants that collect money and dispense fuel should be vaccinated,” said Ali Daruwala, Spokesperson of the All India Petroleum Dealers Association (AIPDA).

He added, “We had demanded the inclusion of pump attendants in the COVID-19 vaccine priority list. They were declared essential workers and had performed their duties during Covid-19 lockdowns, but were not considered eligible to get the vaccine on priority. The government – either through oil marketing companies or some other mechanism – should bear the cost of vaccinating petrol pump workers.”

He estimates that there were around 700,000 petrol pump workers that need to be administered COVID-19 vaccines. “It is noteworthy that our delivery men carry full cylinders on their shoulders while making deliveries to the households and bringing back empty ones, multiple times in a single day and are therefore vulnerable and prone to catching the infection easily,” the All India LPG Distributors Federation wrote in a letter to Petroleum Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.

The federation sought the inclusion of staff of LPG distributors in the priority list of vaccination as they are equally exposed to COVID-19. “However, priority may be given to the staff of distributors of such areas where the infection is still at peak,” the letter said.

The request to include frontline workers such as pump attendants in the priority list has also been made by three public sector undertaking (PSU) oil marketing companies namely Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum.