Zipline and UPS partner government deliver first coronavirus vaccines to healthcare facilities

Health news for Monday, March 1, 2021

Source: aviationghana.com

03/01/2021

The world’s first and only nationwide drone delivery service, Zipline, has announced a successful collaboration with UPS and the UPS Foundation to help the government of Ghana deliver COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

Supported by UPS Healthcare’s coordination with vaccine manufacturers, UPS deliveries of the initial vaccines have arrived in Ghana this week from the COVAX facility and transport will begin promptly within the country.

The UPS Foundation mobilized its distribution network to receive vaccines from Kotoka International Airport to the national cold room managed by the Expanded Immunization Program of the Ghana Health Service. UPS will then support the distribution of the bulk vaccine shipment to regional cold stores and Zipline distribution centers in Omenako, Mpanya, Vobsi and Sefwi Wiawso.

As part of the government’s planned immunization rollout, Zipline will then deliver on-demand doses directly to healthcare facilities. The on-demand delivery of vaccines will allow the government of Ghana to improve vaccine access in rural areas lacking cold chain storage and minimize wastage, as doses can be sent as needed, in as little as 15 to 30 minutes.

“The UPS Foundation is committed to supporting the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world,” said Nicole Clifton, President of the UPS Foundation.

“UPS is pleased to partner with Zipline and the Government of Ghana to advance the health and well-being of the Ghanaian community. It’s a moment like no other and it demands the expertise developed by UPS in healthcare logistics. We move the world forward by delivering what matters and UPS is proud to be a key player in global public-private partnerships helping deliver vaccines around the world.

The Government of Ghana integrated Zipline’s medical drone delivery service into its healthcare supply chain in April 2019 with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UPS Foundation and ‘other partners.

Zipline provides instant access to hundreds of healthcare products for thousands of healthcare facilities across the country. Zipline’s current network in Ghana can reach up to half the population and is expected to expand nationwide later this year.

Zipline Ghana Managing Director Naa Adorkor Yawson said, “Zipline is honored to be a key partner of the Ministry of Health in the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. Our services allow equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine to all Ghanaians, even in areas that do not have cold chain equipment.

The on-demand delivery service also prevents vaccine wastage and spoilage by sending only the exact amount required by each facility at any given time. Zipline has the ability to deliver vaccines, even those that require ultra-low temperatures, to the more than 1,000 healthcare facilities we currently serve. “

“With limited supply for the foreseeable future, COVID-19 vaccines are arguably the most valuable commodity in the world this year,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi. “With each dose so important, it is essential to ensure that our partner countries have the support and tools to deliver vaccines effectively and efficiently to those who need them.

This new support builds on the long-standing partnership between Gavi and the UPS Foundation, which aims to ensure that every child in Gavi-supported countries receives life-saving vaccines. “

Ghana Health Service, UPS Healthcare and Zipline will work together to ensure safe vaccine handling and delivery within the delivery schedule. The Ghana Health Service will deploy its delivery vans, with UPS doing the same to ensure prompt delivery while Zipline will receive the vaccines and deliver them via drones to hard-to-reach areas of their operational areas.

On February 23, COVAX shipped 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune, India to Accra, Ghana, arriving on the morning of February 24. The arrival in Accra is the first batch shipped and delivered to Africa by the COVAX Facility in an unprecedented effort to deliver at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), working in partnership with UNICEF as well as the World Bank, organizations of the civil society, manufacturers and others.

Each week, a single Zipline distribution center – a medical treatment warehouse and an airport for drones – is capable of micro-targeted delivery of more than two tonnes of temperature-controlled drugs to any point over a close service area. of 8,000 square kilometers. Each plane can travel 100 miles round trip, in strong winds and rain, day or night, to make on-demand deliveries in 30 to 45 minutes on average.

Zipline drones have traveled more than 5 million autonomous kilometers to deliver more than 1.5 million doses of vaccines, units of blood and essential and life-saving drugs to more than a thousand healthcare facilities serving more than 25 million people in three countries.

Zipline recently announced that it will soon be launching medical delivery services in Nigeria’s Kaduna State as its footprint grows across Africa. Zipline is preparing to use its existing and planned distribution capacity in Rwanda, Nigeria and the United States to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.