MOSCOW, June 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 70% of PhosAgro employees now immune to COVID-19, the Company reports that herd immunity has been established among its workforce.
As of today, 9,032 PhosAgro employees have received at least one vaccine dose, while 8,205 staff members have received both doses. Another 4,643 employees have not been vaccinated but have antibodies.
The development of herd immunity is one of the key factors for ensuring the health of employees and the uninterrupted operation of PhosAgro's enterprises.
In this regard, in December 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 vaccination campaign got under way, the Company launched a comprehensive effort to educate its staff about the importance of voluntary vaccination. Expert virologists, infectious-disease specialists and vaccine developers have been invited to speak with the workforce. Employees have received information and answers to their questions through corporate newsletters, the Company's intranet, specially prepared reminders and at both online and in-person meetings. Individuals have shared their successful vaccination experiences and discussed the severe consequences of COVID-19. Cooperation has been established with trade unions and local authorities.
Personal examples have played a key role in motivating staff. Already a year ago, PhosAgro CEO Andrey A. Guryev and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors Andrey G. Guryev took part in vaccine clinical trials as volunteers, and Xavier Rolet, an independent director and Chairman of PhosAgro's Board of Directors, has also been vaccinated.
"We are grateful to the entire PhosAgro workforce for their personal commitment and sense of responsibility for the health of their co-workers and their loved ones. Seventy per cent immunity is an important milestone, a key barrier preventing the spread of infection at PhosAgro enterprises, ensuring a safe workplace.
"It is important for business to strengthen the robust shield that the state is building against the third wave of the COVID-19 epidemic. During the pandemic, PhosAgro has allocated over RUB 3.5 billion to support healthcare in the regions where it operates and to implement a set of preventive measures. The high level of vaccination among the Company's workforce will be play an important role in helping the regions meet their vaccination targets: the vaccination rates in the cities where PhosAgro operates are currently much higher than the national average.
"We understand that it is important not only to form herd immunity but also to maintain it. In this regard, PhosAgro is developing regulations for its employees to take booster shots and is continuing to encourage staff to get vaccinated," said PhosAgro's CEO and the Head of the Russian Fertilizer Producers Association, Andrey A. Guryev.
About PhosAgro
PhosAgro (www.phosagro.com) is one of the world's leading vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producers in terms of production volumes of phosphate-based fertilizers and high-grade phosphate rock with a P2O5 content of 39% and higher. PhosAgro's environmentally friendly fertilizers stand out for their high efficiency, and they do not lead to the contamination of soils with heavy metals.
The Company is the largest phosphate-based fertilizer producer in Europe (by total combined capacity for DAP/MAP/NP/NPK/NPS), the largest producer of high-grade phosphate rock with a P2O5 content of 39%, a top-three producer of MAP/DAP globally, one of the leading producers of feed phosphates (MCP) in Europe, and the only producer in Russia, and Russia's only producer of nepheline concentrate (according to the RAFP).
PhosAgro's main products include phosphate rock, more than 50 grades of fertilizers, feed phosphates, ammonia, and sodium tripolyphosphate, which are used by customers in 102 countries spanning all of the world's inhabited continents. The Company's priority markets outside of Russia and the CIS are Latin America, Europe and Asia.
PhosAgro's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange, and global depositary receipts (GDRs) for shares trade on the London Stock Exchange (under the ticker PHOR). Since 1 June 2016, the Company's GDRs have been included in the MSCI Russia and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes.
