While the world is optimistic about the new COVID-19 vaccines, it has been a challenge for the whole world to get the heat sensitive materials into health centers to ensure they can be distributed fairly and efficiently. Now, drone delivery heroes Zipline have announced that they can deliver COVID-19 vaccines by drone to make the vaccines more accessible to rural areas.
Zipline’s new end-to-end cold chain distribution feature is being developed with a leading manufacturer of COVID-19 vaccines. Zipline will be able to drone all of the leading COVID-19 vaccines in each of the countries Zipline operates in. The new sales function “enables healthcare facilities to bypass the need for freezers by receiving the exact number of COVID-19 vaccines needed safely and compliantly within the required temperature profile at any time,” says the Zipline announcement.
“Where you live shouldn’t determine whether or not you get a COVID-19 vaccine. Rural areas around the world are badly affected by this virus, ”said Keller Rinaudo, CEO of Zipline. “These communities are facing major challenges. We can help healthcare systems bypass infrastructure and supply chain challenges with instant delivery. “
“… COVID-19 vaccines may require dry ice or highly specialized freezers, which are typically used in larger, well-equipped medical laboratories and research centers. Transporting, storing and distributing COVID-19 vaccines with extremely low cold chain in hard-to-reach places without disrupting the entire supply chain process requires innovative delivery solutions, ”says Zipline.
