FedEx and UPS are confident they have enough air cargo capacity to handle the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines across the USA over the coming weeks and months.
The two companies are key partners to the US government’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine project and will move millions of doses for Pfizer Inc and other pharmaceutical companies. Experts predict that the unprecedented size of the COVID-19 project will test the nation’s cold-chain shipping capabilities.
US media reported that the president of FedEx Americas, Richard Smith, told an Operation Warp Speed vaccine summit at the White House yesterday, also referring to UPS: “There’s plenty of capacity in our networks to handle this, and remember it’s not all going to hit us on a Tuesday. It’s going to come over time, so we’ve got this. Relax.”
“Critical links” for vaccine distribution
Speaking at the summit, US vice president Mike Pence commented: “FedEx, UPS and (distributor) McKesson are going to serve as a critical link getting the vaccine to the point of the need.
“And what’s important for the American people to understand is that we’re not reinventing the wheel here. These are companies that have already, in the past, particularly in McKesson’s case, been involved in distributing millions of vaccines across America. We’re just building a bigger wheel, but building on top of the experience that we have.”
Accenture’s Seabury Consulting estimates the global roll-out of a vaccine will generate 65,000 tonnes of air freight, which is five times the air vaccine trade in 2019.
Shipping within 24 hours of authorization
The US Food and Drug Administration is on track to approve Pfizer’s messenger-RNA vaccine after a December 10 meeting with its advisory panel and then Moderna‘s after a December 17 session.
Within 24 hours of the first vaccine being authorized by the FDA it will be shipped to all 50 states and outlying US territories. As of last week, 6.4 million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine were ready to ship. The US will have 40 million doses of COVID vaccine by the end of the year.
Pfizer will ship its vaccine using UPS and FedEx as its main distributors. Moderna's vaccine distribution is being coordinated by McKesson, the nation's largest medical supply distributor.
FedEx will ship vaccines by air, e-commerce parcels by ground
FedEx is working closely with federal health officials to begin delivering the first shipments of the coronavirus vaccine and does not anticipate them to cause any delays to regular volumes of goods during the busy period in the run-up to Christmas.
In a statement, the company said it will use separate services to deliver the vaccines and to handle peak season online orders.
"At FedEx we have two networks for parcel delivery – FedEx Express with time-definite and cold chain capabilities which serves our healthcare customers and is ready to ship vaccines, as well as FedEx Ground, our ground network which predominantly handles the surge of e-commerce shipments during our holiday peak effort," the statement read in part. "The distinction means that each will have the dedicated resources they need to deliver quickly and safely."
UPS is ‘ready to deliver’
As already reported, UPS said yesterday it was “proud to be a key player” in the global public-private partnerships preparing to distribute vaccines worldwide.
“We have significant knowledge and extensive expertise to meet the needs and demands of our customers for testing kit and vaccine distribution. Together with other critical players in these supply chains, we are ready to deliver what matters most. UPS is preparing highly orchestrated logistics and distribution services to support global lifesaving operations.”
It added: “This is a moment like no other, and it demands the expertise that UPS has developed in Healthcare Logistics. We have significant experience with distributing other vaccines, an unparalleled GMP facility footprint, clinical trials expertise through the company’s Marken subsidiary, a sophisticated real-time package tracking capability called UPS Premier, dedicated freezer farms and cold chain experience, an intricate Quality System, and growing experience in home healthcare and Direct to Patient (DTP) logistics solutions. UPS will deliver.”
Distribution peak in 2021
The initial vaccine shipments will coincide with the busiest shipping period of what is turning out to be an exceptional peak season this year, but the major distribution phase is set to come in the first half of 2021.
Once the first doses have been shipped, the system will begin regular deliveries. Each week, whatever vaccine the authorized manufacturers have made will be divided. Half will be stored and the other half shipped out.
The Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines both require two doses, given 21 and 28 days apart, respectively. Operation Warp Speed wants to ensure there is always vaccine available for the second dose, media reports said.
Each Thursday, Operation Warp Speed will ask vaccine producers how much vaccine they have made during the week. On Friday, staff will meet and decide how many doses can be allocated. States will put in their orders on Saturday and deliveries will happen on Monday morning.
