As part of its plan to bring its 40,000 plus employees back to work in its offices, Fidelity Investments is working with state and local officials to accelerate the availability of COVID-19 vaccines for its employees.
"Safety will dictate every decision we make. We are actively planning how and when to eventually return to the workplace. The curve of the pandemic will direct our actions," Fidelity spokesman Michael Aalto said in an email.
The company's return to work in offices will happen gradually, "starting small before building over time," he said.
Because safety is the company's top priority, "maximizing vaccination is our goal," Mr. Aalto said. "Fidelity believes that having as many associates vaccinated as possible maximizes the safety of associates, customers, vendors, visitors to our facilities and the community."
Fidelity is tracking state and local government vaccine distribution plans and is working closely with officials where Fidelity office campuses are located to see how the firm can help with vaccine distribution and accelerating the availability of vaccines for its employees, Mr. Aalto said.
In addition to its headquarters in Boston, Fidelity has 12 regional offices and more than 190 retail branch offices across the U.S., according to the firm's website.
In Boston, for example, the commonwealth of Massachusetts gave the company permission to host a free COVID-19 vaccination clinic for employees who are eligible under current state guidelines in its headquarters at 245 Summer St., according to an employee memo obtained by Pensions & Investments.
Fidelity is "in discussions with many states and they are welcoming our assistance," but did not specify the states, the memo to employee said.
Only Fidelity employees 65 and older who live in Massachusetts are currently eligible for the vaccine and a date hasn't been set for Fidelity's on-site vaccination clinic in Boston, Mr. Aalto said. State governments will provide COVID-19 vaccines to Fidelity.
Fidelity will not mandate vaccinations for employees with certain religious, medical or other conditions, Mr. Aalto said.
As Fidelity continues to develop its global policies and approaches to vaccines, Mr. Aalto said the firm will "let science and data drive our decision-making" as the firm consults with medical experts, outside providers, peer companies, local governments and more to help.
As of Dec. 31. Fidelity had $9.8 trillion of assets under management and administration of which $3.8 trillion were assets managed with discretion.
