Starbucks support of safe and equitable vaccine distribution
Starbucks is building on its existing community partnerships to invest in innovative programs that help increase safe and equitable access to vaccines.
From day one of the pandemic, Starbucks has remained committed to caring for the health and well-being of our partners (employees) and customers, playing a constructive role in supporting local health officials and government leaders as they work to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and showing up in a positive and responsible way to serve our communities.
We believe that businesses have a role and responsibility to support our communities and this challenge requires all of us working together. Our involvement in supporting safe and equitable distribution of vaccines began in January when we saw an increased need to accelerate and operationalize public distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in order to meet state-wide vaccination goals.
As more Americans become eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations, we remain committed to continue sharing educational information about the COVID-19 vaccine and supporting our communities in providing equitable access to vaccinations.
Caring for our Communities
As part of Starbucks ongoing efforts to support equitable vaccine distribution, the company is building on its existing community partnerships to invest in innovative programs that help increase safe and equitable access to vaccines.
Recent community investments include a $250,000 donation to help fund veteran-led disaster response organization Team Rubicon’s mobile vaccination site pilots currently underway in Nevada, as well as the development of a mobile vaccination site playbook that will be released as an open-source resource for agencies and organizations across the country. Team Rubicon’s support of Mobile Vaccination Units (MVUs) and other mobile vaccination efforts seek to make vaccine access more equitable by delivering vaccines directly to rural and tribal communities at convenient times and reducing transportation barriers. Starbucks investment also supports Team Rubicon-supported fixed vaccination sites that are focused on reaching underserved communities, and have so far distributed over 1M total vaccines across the country. This long-standing partnership with Team Rubicon supports Starbucks ongoing commitment to help veterans and military families transition into their new lives and communities.
Starbucks has also contributed a total of $50,000 to local Seattle-area hospitals Swedish and UW Medicine to support their efforts to deliver vaccines directly to underserved communities.
Vaccine Equity Initiative
The Starbucks Foundation contributed $150K to the Vaccine Equity Initiative in partnership with All in WA and the Seattle Foundation to help close disparities with COVID-19 vaccine access across Washington State. The Initiative targets and streamlines funds to trusted and known community-based organizations who conduct linguistically and culturally specific vaccine education and outreach, as well as safely facilitate mobile and pop-up vaccine clinics for those who want to get vaccinated.
WA State Vaccine Partnership
In January, Starbucks and other companies joined Washington State Governor Inslee and Challenge Seattle in a first-of-its kind public-private partnership (the COVID-19 Vaccine Action Command and Coordination System (VACCS) Center), to help optimize accelerated, safe and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccines across Washington State.
Utilizing the company’s Tryer Center Innovation Lab, Starbucks contributed expertise in operational efficiency, scalable modeling and human-centered design to Washington State’s vaccine distribution efforts. The Starbucks team used this work to inform three different models: vaccination clinics, drive-through clinics and mobile pop-ups to go to people in more rural or underserved areas.
Starbucks, in partnership with Challenge Seattle and VACCS, also released a Playbook of best practices from this partnership, so that other states and government leaders may leverage the findings and efficiencies for other mass vaccination sites across the country.This partnership helped Washington State successfully accelerate vaccine distribution to meet Governor Inslee’s 45,000 vaccinations per day goal.
Caring for our Partners
In continuing the company’s commitment to prioritizing partner care and safety throughout COVID-19, the company has focused on providing ongoing information, education and advocacy for COVID-19 vaccines including:
- Hosting scientists from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for virtual conversations with thousands of partners to discuss the current state of COVID-19 and facilitate answers to partner questions on vaccine effectiveness, virus variants and antibodies and addressing fears about vaccines.
- Providing online tools for partners, as well as their friends and family, to create their vaccine plan and easily access state-by-state vaccine distribution and availability information.
- Offering two hours of paid time off per dose for partners who choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine, up to two doses.
- Offering up to 4 hours of paid time off if partners experience vaccine-related side effects and miss a scheduled shift within 48 hours of receiving each dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, up to two doses.
- Sharing local volunteer opportunities for partners who would like to get involved with vaccine distribution.
Partners can click here for the latest information about COVID-19 benefits.
Caring for our Customers
Starbucks is committed to the health and well-being of our communities by supporting public awareness and education about the COVID-19 vaccine.
We recommend the following resources for more information:
- For more information on vaccinations: getvaccineanswers.org
- Find out if Exposure Notifications are available in your state – if so, your smartphone can alert you if you may have been exposed to COVID-19: https://g.co/ENS
For more information:
Customers can click here for an at-a-glance look at what you need to know about your local store, Starbucks partners and the community.
For the latest updates from the company regarding COVID-19, visit Navigating through COVID-19.
