Airlines set to move COVID-19 vaccine when ready for distribution
An approved COVID-19 vaccine is yet to come, but preparations already are underway because of its distribution - including any extreme temperature requirements. American Airlines released this week that its cargo procedure has began conducting trial flights from Miami to South America to check its process of shipping vaccines.
That includes stress testing a trial of "a significant pharmaceutical company’s thermal packaging," the airline’s CEO Doug Parker said in a LinkedIn post earlier this week. The flight didn't involve any vaccine doses, a spokesperson confirmed, relating to reports.
Parker said the airline "successfully moved" the thermal packaging of the business, which was not identified, last week.
Pfizer and BioNTech were the first ever to submit a request to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorisation of their COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Distribution of their vaccine poses a potential challenge: It must be placed at around minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit - far colder when compared to a typical freezer can accommodate.
Because of these temperature requirements, the company will ship vaccine doses found in special temperature-controlled thermal boxes filled with dry ice.
American Airlines said in a statement that it has generated a "network of associates that focus on temperature-critical shipments," and that it will use the Federal Aviation Administration on "regulations governing shipments transported with dry ice." Utilising cargo and commercial carriers will allow the vaccine to come to be "distributed as fast as possible," Parker said.
United Airlines in addition has been preparing to "assist a vaccine distribution effort on a worldwide scale," a spokesperson stated in a statement, regarding to reports. The business is preparing to "safely and effectively support" the vaccine transportation desires of its pharmaceutical customers, the spokesperson added.
Reports further explained that the airline possesses started flying Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer and BioNTech said they'll be ready to distribute the vaccine within hours after authorisation. Representatives of the firms are arranged to meet up with the FDA on December 10, after which an unbiased advisory board can make a recommendation on authorisation.
Source: bangladeshmonitor.com
