FedEx, UPS Execs Say COVID-19 Vaccines Will Receive Flight Priority, GPS Tracking

FedEx and UPS executives on Thursday said COVID-19 vaccines will get GPS tracking and flight priority, reports The Commercial Appeal.

Distribution of a vaccine could begin this week if approval is given by the Food and Drug Administration – the organization’s advisory committee is meeting Thursday to consider emergency use authorization for Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine as cases continue to rise in the country.

The first 6.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine could start shipping out Friday to immunize healthcare workers as well as the staff and residents of long-term nursing facilities.

The Pfizer vaccine must be stored in ice-cold temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit and people need to be given two doses 28 days apart. The drug is only viable for five days in standard refrigeration.

FedEx and UPS say they are up to the challenge.

“Just to point out how profound this is you have two fierce rivals ... in FedEx and UPS who are literally teaming up to get this delivered,” FedEx Express executive vice president Richard Smith told a Senate transportation subcommittee Thursday.

“Of course, FedEx and UPS have split the country into two,” said Wes Wheeler, president of Global Healthcare at UPS. “We know exactly what states we have, and they know what states they have.”

Both executives are working with the Federal Aviation Administration to alert them of planes carrying the vaccines so they receive priority takeoff and landing.

“In some cases, that relationship is interdependent, with them shipping the kitting and us shipping the vaccine to certain states, so we’re relying on one another,” Smith said.

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