United Parcel Service Inc. is building two giant freezer farms capable of super-cooling millions of vials of a Covid-19 vaccine, preparing for the day when it will need to deliver the medicine at high speed across the globe.
The facilities, under construction in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Netherlands, near UPS air hubs, will house a total of 600 deep-freezers that can each hold 48,000 vials of vaccine at temperatures as low as -80 Celsius (-112 Fahrenheit). That’s on par with some of the coldest temperatures in Antarctica.
Distributing a Covid-19 vaccine — if one is approved for use — will be the second huge logistical challenge spawned by the pandemic for delivery giants UPS and FedEx Corp., which earlier this year mobilized to airlift thousands of tons of protective gear across the world for health-care workers. This time the job is moving fragile vials of medicine under exacting conditions for the world’s best shot to stamp out the coronavirus and restore economies to normal.
“This truly will be a historic supply chain feat to distribute millions, if not billions, of life-saving Covid-19 vaccine vials to far-reaching global populations,” said Wes Wheeler, president of UPS Healthcare. “Lives will depend on us to get these vaccine deployments right, and we’re well-prepared to support all of these efforts until this pandemic is behind us.”
Researchers are working feverishly to create effective vaccines and treatments, with multiple projects at various stages of development. If they’re successful — a big if, of course — the next challenge would be for the world’s transportation network to get the medicine into the hands of doctors and patients on a global scale.
FedEx and DHL Global Forwarding also have been expanding their temperature-controlled transport capabilities. DHL opened a new $1.6 million facility in Indianapolis this month. FedEx is adding freezers, refrigerated trucks, sensors and even thermal blankets, said Bonny Harrison, director of global media relations in a statement. Read more from Bloomberg.
