Pfizer’s vaccine carried on United charter planes filled with dry ice



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United Airlines has already started rolling out Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine – including travel to and from locations in the United States and Europe – in anticipation of approval by the Food and Drug Administration and others regulators, according to a report.

The first charter flights are part of Pfizer’s effort to act quickly once approvals are granted, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Pfizer has final vaccine assembly centers in Kalamazoo, Michigan and Puurs, Belgium, and operates distribution storage sites in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, and Karlsruhe, Germany, according to the newspaper.

Pfizer declined to comment on the WSJ report.

The FAA said in a statement to the newspaper on Friday that it was supporting the “first mass air shipment of a vaccine” and that it was working with other airlines on the transport of vaccines.

The agency told the newspaper it would allow United to fly five times more dry ice than is usually allowed – 15,000 pounds per flight – to keep the vaccine at the extremely cold temperature it needs to avoid any deterioration.

The first approvals of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to come from Europe, including the UK.

The drug company requested emergency approval from the FDA on November 20.

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