UPS and FedEx business rivals are now working closely together to ship the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, the first of the vaccine candidate to win U.S. government approval. The two giant shipping companies said they are now executing the plans they have been working on for months into action after the Food and Drug Administration gave the vaccine emergency authorization late Friday.
UPS said in a statement that it would transport doses of the vaccine from storage sites in Michigan and Wisconsin to its air cargo hub in Louisville, Kentucky. From there, the doses will be distributed to hospitals and other medical facilities across the country using its Next Day Air service, arriving the day after leaving the Pfizer facilities. “This is the moment of truth we’ve been waiting for,” Wes Wheeler, president of the company’s health care division, said in a statement. “The time has arrived to put the plan into action.”
UPS had started shipping out kits with the medical supplies needed to administer the vaccine such as alcohol wipes and syringes. After the vaccine and the supplementary kits arrive the sites, another shipment from UPS of 40 pounds of extra dry ice to keep the vaccines at a frigid temperature will be delivered. Additionally, Pfizer has packed the vaccines in a special containers with dry ice to keep a minimum of 975 doses cool for up to 10 days. Tracking device from Pfizer and the shipment companies are both will be affixed. The truck also will have an escort. UPS has been installing ultralow-temperature freezer farms that are able to keep goods as cold as minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit near its air cargo hubs in the United States and Europe and is producing more than 24000 pounds of dry ice per day at its Louisville hub.
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