US-based multinational shipping & logistics firm United Parcel Service (UPS) completed a significant milestone in its efforts to support the global healthcare community against COVID-19 by making a successful same-day international delivery of coronavirus vaccine to Qatar.
The firm carried 14 boxes of the temperature-sensitive Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from its factory in Brussels, Belgium and delivered them to Doha’s Hamad International Airport on a Qatar Airways passenger Boeing 787 within 24 hours.
The Qatar Ministry of Public Health had given emergency use authorization to the Pfizer and BioNTech developed COVID-19 vaccine earlier this week.
Doha-based Gulf Warehousing Company is an authorized service contractor for UPS since 2015.
Speaking on the occasion, UPS’ Managing Director for the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, Mr. Rachid Fergati remarked that “We are honored to support Qatar’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Our teams have been working around the clock to deliver these temperature-sensitive vaccines from Brussels to Qatar-based medical facilities in less than 24 hours. This is a reflection of our commitment to deliver what matters to people and communities that need it most, the UPS official commented.
“We have the expertise to meet the demands of the highly regulated, complex requirements of these pharmaceuticals and look forward to collaborating with our global public and private partnerships to distribute the vaccine all over the world,” Mr. Fergati pointed out.
Temperature-sensitive vaccines
One of the earliest dosages to gain approvals, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by US pharma giant Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech is also one among the most temperature-sensitive vaccine doses in the world with a recommended storage temperature between -80°C and -60°C.
