In 2020, the new crown pneumonia epidemic will test the emergency response capabilities of the world. After more than half a year of active response, the spread of the epidemic has been under control, but many countries and regions are still affected by it, and the development of vaccines has thus become popular. During the epidemic, global express logistics companies played an irreplaceable role in the transportation of personal protective equipment and medical supplies. Next, cross-border transportation of vaccines will become the next battleground.
According to Bloomberg News, UPS is currently building two large-scale cold storage facilities that can supercool millions of bottles of new coronary pneumonia vaccine. Once the vaccine is successfully developed, it can be quickly shipped worldwide. Two cold storage facilities are under construction, one is located in Louisville, Kentucky, and the other is located in the European country Netherlands. The two can hold 600 mobile refrigerators, each of which can store 48,000 bottles of vaccines, and the temperature can be as low as minus 80. Degrees Celsius.
Generally speaking, cold storage is an essential standard solution for the global medical industry, which can refrigerate blood samples, biological tissues or vaccines. Although there have been some cold storage facilities before, UPS said it needs to increase its reserves to meet the demand for new crown vaccine. For the transportation and distribution of vaccines, United Parcel stated that there is no difficulty, which is similar to other sensitive medical products, which are put into dry ice refrigerated containers to be connected between trucks and airplanes. According to reports, if the freezer meets the requirements, UPS will be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. 10-15 employees are responsible for managing the operation of each cold storage facility.
However, for express logistics giants, including United Parcel, storage and rapid transshipment below minus 80 degrees Celsius are new challenges. Bloomberg reported that once vaccines are successfully developed and can be used in humans, transportation companies that have experienced logistics difficulties in the epidemic will face the second major problem, which is vaccine transportation. Because the temperature control requirements for vaccine transportation are extremely strict, the transportation conditions are extremely strict.
Wes Wheeler, President of United Parcel Healthcare, said that transporting the new crown vaccine to millions of people or even remote areas will be a major challenge in the history of the supply chain. This is a life-saving feat and requires adequate preparation. He said that each vaccine has different requirements for temperature and transportation time, and the cold storage design of United Parcel will meet the most stringent temperature control requirements. The company collaborated with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the federal "Operation Warp Speed" team to discuss and study the transportation conditions required for vaccine delivery. This group is mainly responsible for advancing the vaccine research and development progress of Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and biotechnology company Moderna.
As for the construction cost of the cold storage facility, UPS did not disclose, but Bloomberg quoted the relevant person in charge of the pharmaceutical manufacturer Stirling Ultracold that the price of ultra-low temperature refrigerators is usually between 10,000 and 15,000 US dollars, which is the lowest of the two cold storage facilities. The cost is as high as 6 million US dollars. It is reported that the refrigerators in the two cold storage yards of United Parcel are ready, only waiting for the vaccine research and development approval. In addition, UPS has also purchased refrigerators for storing vaccines in South America, Germany and the United Kingdom.
DHL Global Cargo and FedEx are also expanding their temperature-controlled product transportation capabilities. DHL recently opened a refrigeration facility with an investment of US$1.6 million in Indianapolis, USA, which can handle various medical products and biotechnology products. According to the American Shipper website, the facility is one of DHL’s 8 “certified life science stations” worldwide, supporting DHL’s cold chain air transportation. Indianapolis is home to many biomedical companies, close to the airport, very suitable for global transportation. In addition, DHL Supply Chain also reached a cooperation agreement with Siemens Medical in July this year, which uses DHL’s storage facilities in Memphis. FedEx has also added cold storage facilities and cold chain vehicles, sensors and insulation blankets. The company said that since the outbreak of the epidemic, the company has worked with governments, pharmaceutical companies and customers to help global communities obtain supply of critical medical products.