NBK holds seminar for its employees on importance of COVID vaccination
Seminar held with the participation of Kuwaiti physicians
KUWAIT: As part of its social responsibility efforts to combat the coronavirus, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) organized a seminar for its employees to raise awareness about the importance of COVID-19 vaccination. The seminar was attended by a select of Kuwaiti physicians including Dr Maytham Hussein, Consultant of Clinical Immunology, Dr Mohammad Al-Ghounaim. Pediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist & Medical Microbiologist, and member of the Vaccination Committee at the Ministry of Health, as well as Dr Hamad AlYaseen, Associate Professor of Genomic Medicine at Kuwait University.
In the seminar that witnessed a remarkable attendance from the bank’s employees, the lecturers stressed that the fast pace of vaccination increases the number of people immunized against COVID-19 infection, which slows the spread of the disease, and contributes to herd immunity and returning safely to normalcy.
The lecturers emphasized that the WHO-approved vaccines are safe, having undergoing rigorous testing in clinical trials to ensure that they meet internationally accepted safety and efficacy standards, as well as provide protection against new mutated versions of the virus. Participants cautioned against inaccurate information about the COVID-19 and vaccines, stressing, at the same time, that misinformation can cause doubts and fear during any health crisis, thus leading to leaving people unprotected or more vulnerable to the virus. They always called for continuing to adhere with precautionary measures to protect ourselves and others, including wearing face masks, social distancing, and washing hands frequently. They also added that vaccines provided protection for the more vulnerable segments of society, such as the seniors, immune-compromised and chronic diseases patients.
On this occasion, Lulwa Mishari Al-Fozan, Head of Employee Relations at National Bank of Kuwait said: “Organizing a seminar for the bank’s employees to raise awareness about the importance of COVID-19 vaccination is a continuation of the many initiatives and campaigns held by Group Human Resources to contribute effectively to supporting the national vaccination drive in Kuwait, which is moving towards achieving herd immunity soon.”
Al-Fozan noted that NBK’s employees have shown a high sense of responsibility towards their colleagues, families and society, as reflected in their great interest in getting vaccinated over the past months. Al-Fozan stressed that, since the beginning of the pandemic, NBK has been making unwavering efforts to ensure the safety of its employees through many initiatives and campaigns aimed at creating a safe work environment that also contributes to contain the spread of the virus.
As the largest private sector institution, NBK has a national responsibility to provide a role model to follow. In this context, the bank was one of the first private sector institutions to launch a program to motivate its employees to get vaccinated and actively contribute to supporting the country’s national vaccination drive, she elaborated.
It is worth mentioning that over the past months,
NBK intensified direct communication with its employees providing them with reliable and credible information about the safety, efficacy and side effects of available vaccines, including information about approved vaccines and how to register for the vaccine, in cooperation with the concerned authorities in Kuwait.
In addition, through its social media platforms, the bank held several discussion sessions with physicians and leading public health figures to share scientific information and answer employees’ inquiries about the efficacy of the vaccine, and how it contributes to returning to normalcy.
NBK recognizes the importance of improving the health and safety of its key stakeholders, including employees and customers, as an integral part of its sustainable development approach. To this end, it continuously updates its health and safety policy developed based on regional and international best practices in relation to health and safety matters.
The bank also raises the motto of “employees’ health and safety first” in all measures and decisions that have been taken since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. This is manifested in launching many programs and activities that focus on promoting a healthy lifestyle and raising awareness on the importance of conducting medical examinations for the bank’s employees to avoid physical and psychological exhaustion during the pandemic.