COVID vaccine shipments ‘business as usual’ for integrators

FedEx and UPS this week began transporting the first shipments of Pfizer’s newly approved COVID-19 vaccine from Michigan-area airports, near Pfizer’s facility in Portage, Mich., where the vaccines were produced. [caption id="attachment_93689" align="alignright" width="450"] Photo/Los Angeles World Airports[/caption] UPS’ first flight utilized a 757 freighter and departed Lansing (LAN) at 11:09 a.m. on Dec. 13, heading for the company’s Worldport hub at Louisville (SDF). Though the flight was historic for observers across the country, it was “as routine as you can get,” for UPS, said Houston Mills, VP of flight ops of UPS, and the flight captain. “Just business as usual,” said Mills. FedEx also transported an initial shipment of Pfizer vaccines from Michigan that same day, flying it from Grand Rapids (GRR) to Memphis (MEM) with an A300-600 freighter. Although the dry ice used to keep vaccines at ultra-low temperatures while in transit is considered a dangerous good, it’s not novel for the air cargo supply chain. “We’ve carried dry ice for a long time and already have established safety and management systems,” said Mills. UPS rarely flies out of LAN on Sundays, and tends to operate a nightly flight to SDF Monday through Saturday utilizing an MD-11 freighter, said Spencer Flynn, marketing manager of Capital Region Airport Authority, which manages Lansing airport. UPS added the 757 flight specifically to move the initial shipment of vaccines. The extra Sunday flight was added to align with the vaccine’s approval so that immediately after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued Emergency Use Authorization for Pfizer’s vaccine, UPS could “make our sort that night,” said Mills, referring to the connection at SDF. UPS expects additional vaccine shipments to move through its network in the days and months ahead as Pfizer continues delivering vaccines made at its Michigan facility. However, most vaccines will move on the carrier’s scheduled network. “It will be a combination of special and regularly scheduled flights,” said Mills. On Dec. 13, vaccines left the factory shortly after 9 a.m. local time, and the UPS flight was wheels-up by 11:09 a.m. Subsequent shipments aren’t expected to be stored or staged at the airport but will likely be timed “with when a flight is going to take off,” said Flynn, so that shipments “are not sitting anywhere for very long.” While security for the vaccine shipments is a top concern, U.S. marshals are securing vaccine distribution in the United States, and the trailer moving the vaccine “did have its own security escort from the Pfizer factory to our airport,” said Flynn. UPS’ first flight landed at SDF a few minutes ahead of schedule and was treated like most other UPS flights. Although the Federal Aviation Administration said last week it would give priority to flights carrying COVID-19 vaccines, in most cases no special action is required. “In case of weather situations,” the National Command Center may be called on to give priority to such flights, said Mills. The U.S. government has agreed to purchase 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine as part of Operation Warp Speed. Starting this week, vaccines are being delivered to more than 600 destinations in the U.S., according to a press briefing from U.S. Army Gen. Gustave Perna, the operation’s chief operating officer. In addition to its Michigan facility, Pfizer also currently manufactures the vaccine at a second facility in Puurs, Belgium. United Airlines began transporting vaccines from Belgium to the U.S. earlier this month, and other carriers have since followed.

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