Logistical challenges facing the delivery of 15 million cold boxes

The global distribution of the Corona vaccine requires 15,000 flights

Health authorities and producers will have to work to ensure a supply chain that enables the vaccine to arrive safely.

From the source

2020 will be remembered by many as the year our lives were turned upside down due to the emerging coronavirus pandemic.

Today, as we approach the end of the year, hope looms on the horizon for safe and effective vaccines, as Pfizer and Biontech announced that their vaccine has proven effective by more than 90%, and Moderna announced after them that its vaccine is 94.5% effective, and the University of Oxford published promising results for its experiments on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Especially among the elderly, Group 42 is working in Abu Dhabi to develop and manufacture a vaccine next year, and Russia, China and other countries have announced positive results for their clinical trials.

Forty vaccines are undergoing clinical evaluation tests, of which 11 have now reached the third stage of trials, which is the final stage before regulatory approval.

Signs of optimism appeared in the market, as the most affected industries, including airlines, cinemas and hospitality, witnessed a rise in their market value after this news, which gives us hope to return to the aspects of normal life in the next year.

The world's leading pharmaceutical companies and medical authorities are preparing for a vaccine, and governments and logistics companies are preparing for what may be the most important logistical challenge in their history, as they must deliver the drug safely and effectively to billions of people.

However, after global supply chains faced major disruptions during the first wave of the pandemic, with increasing demand for personal protective equipment and difficulty in securing essential medical equipment.

This experience may enable logistics service providers, governments, pharmaceutical companies, and others, to improve the supply chain, without which the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine will not succeed.

Distribution sites

A paper published by DHL, in cooperation with McKinsey, predicts the need for 15,000 flights to distribute global supplies of the vaccine, which will carry 15 million cool boxes and sufficient quantities of dry ice.

Logistics companies have run some tests this year, but distributing the vaccine faces its own unique challenges.

The process requires transporting vaccines from central sites to distribution sites, including hospitals, pharmacies and vaccination centers, by plane or truck.

Health authorities, producers and logistics providers will need to work together to ensure an adequate supply chain that helps the vaccine safely reach people all over the world.

temperature

Storage of the "Pfizer and Biontech" vaccine requires a temperature of -70 degrees Celsius, and this will require a supply chain that allows temperature control, and storing the vaccine in refrigerators and cold boxes from stores until delivery, noting that the current cold chains provide a temperature between 2 and -8 Celsius.

And logistics companies began to make adjustments to allow dealing with the vaccine, and some companies are now adopting dedicated facilities in preparation for the "Covid-19" vaccine.

UPS in the United States of America is building giant freeze farms to store millions of doses of vaccine.

In contrast to large freezers intended for mass storage, freeze farms are designed to meet the storage needs of the pharmaceutical industry to handle specific items, including blood samples.

These freezing farms will be close to air cargo centers, to facilitate their transportation.

FedEx Logistics Company started by purchasing freezers, refrigerating trucks, sensors and thermal covers, but the logistical challenges do not end there.

Monitoring and tracking

The "Covid-19" vaccine will also require the use of global positioning system (GPS) and temperature sensors throughout the delivery period, to ensure the safety and security of the vaccine.

Today, logistics companies are better at monitoring supply chains, thanks to the reduction in the cost of sensor technology and the lessons learned from the e-commerce industry.

Logistical readiness in the Emirates

The logistics industry in the UAE is also preparing in a manner similar to these trends.

The Emirates Air Cargo Company has invested in facilities dedicated to distributing the "Covid-19" vaccine.

These facilities are designed to supply the local market and act as a global distribution center as well.

This center will receive the vaccine from manufacturers to prepare it for regional and international distribution.

The facilities, which will cover 370 square meters, will be equipped with temperature-control technology and will handle about 10 million doses of vaccine.

Today, Emirates Airlines is working with Pfizer to support global distribution needs.

The UAE will play a pivotal role in the distribution of refrigerated vaccine around the world, as it is a leading center for travel and logistics services in the world, thanks to its world-class logistics infrastructure and its strategic location between East and West.

The way Emirates Airlines manages these distribution efforts will provide important lessons for the logistics industry.

The

UAE will play a pivotal role in the distribution of refrigerated vaccine worldwide, as it is a leading center for travel and logistics services in the world, thanks to its world-class logistics infrastructure, and its strategic location between East and West.

Freeze farms are designed to meet the storage needs of the pharmaceutical industry, to handle specific ingredients.

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