(Reuters) - On Sunday morning, tractor trailers loaded with suitcase-sized COVID-19 vaccine containers will leave the manufacturing facility of Pfizer Inc in Kalamazoo, Michigan, launching the biggest and most complex vaccine distribution project in the United States, where the virus is raging.
U.S. regulators approved the Pfizer and partner BioNTech vaccine for use late on Friday, and U.S. marshals would follow the closely guarded shipments from the plant to the final destination.
On Saturday, Wes Wheeler, president of UPS Healthcare, said, "We spent months strategizing with Operation Warp Speed officials and our healthcare customers on effective vaccine logistics, and the time has come to put the plan into action."
The dry-ice-cooled packages from Pfizer will accommodate up to 4,875 doses, and the first leg of their journey will be from Kalamazoo to nearby airplanes. Staff load the vaccine, which must be stored at sub-Arctic temperatures, into aircraft to be shuttled to United Parcel Service or FedEx air cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee.
From there the first doses would be trucked or flown to facilities near the 145 U.S. sites intended to receive them.
On Monday, familiar delivery drivers of UPS and FedEx packages, who may also bring holiday presents and other parcels, will deliver many of the "suitcases" into the hands of healthcare providers. The deliveries are the first of three that are scheduled this week.
The first in line to receive the inoculations are healthcare staff and elderly residents in long-term care homes.
Pfizer's inoculations, minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 ° F), have the most stringent shipping and storage temperature specifications.
UPS and FedEx offer top priority to the vaccine, reserving space on aircraft and trucks at a time when e-commerce-related pandemics and holiday-related e-commerce produce more demand for deliveries than carriers can accommodate.
Both businesses are experienced in the handling of delicate medical items and leave no room for error. They provide the backup devices embedded in the Pfizer boxes with temperature and location monitoring, and monitor each shipment during its journey.
