Tractor trailers loaded with suitcase-sized containers of COVID-19 vaccine will leave Pfizer Inc’s manufacturing facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Sunday morning — launching the largest and most complex vaccine distribution project in the United States, where the virus is raging.
US regulators late on Friday authorized the vaccine from Pfizer and partner BioNTech for use, and US marshals will accompany the tightly secured shipments from factory to final destination.
“We have spent months strategizing with Operation Warp Speed officials and our health care customers on efficient vaccine logistics, and the time has arrived to put the plan into action,” Wes Wheeler, president of UPS Healthcare, said on Saturday.
Pfizer’s dry-ice cooled packages can hold as many as 4,875 doses, and the first leg of their journey will be from Kalamazoo to planes positioned nearby. Workers will load the vaccine — which must be kept at sub-Arctic temperatures — onto the aircraft that will shuttle them to United Parcel Service or FedEx air cargo hubs in Louisville, Kentucky, and Memphis, Tennessee, respectively.
From there, they will be trucked or flown to facilities close to the 145 US sites earmarked to receive the first doses.
Familiar UPS and FedEx package delivery drivers, who may also be carrying holiday gifts and other parcels, will deliver many of the “suitcases” into the hands of health care providers on Monday. The shipments are the first of three expected this week.
Healthcare workers and elderly residents of long-term care homes are first in line to receive the inoculations.
Pfizer’s inoculations have the most restrictive requirements for shipping and storage temperature, minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94°F).
UPS and FedEx are giving the vaccine top priority, reserving space on planes and trucks at a time when pandemic- and holiday- related e-commerce are creating more demand for deliveries than carriers can handle.
Both companies have expertise handling fragile medical products and are leaving little room for error. They are providing temperature and location tracking to backup devices embedded in the Pfizer boxes, and tracking each shipment throughout its journey.
Historic US COVID-19 vaccine campaign launches with convoy of trucks
https://arab.news/cg72u
Historic US COVID-19 vaccine campaign launches with convoy of trucks
- US regulators late on Friday authorized the vaccine from Pfizer and partner BioNTech for use
- US marshals will accompany the tightly secured shipments from factory to final destination
UK Police arrest 86 people at prison protest for Palestine Action hunger striker
- Demonstration outside Wormwood Scrubs held in support of Umer Khalid
- Khalid 1 of 5 people charged in connection with break-in at RAF base last year
LONDON: A protest outside a prison in the UK in support of a man detained for supporting the banned group Palestine Action has led to the arrest of 86 people.
London’s Metropolitan Police said a group of demonstrators breached the grounds of Wormwood Scrubs prison in the capital, refused to leave when ordered to do so, and threatened officers. They were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass.
The group, several of whom attempted to gain access to the prison itself, were protesting in support of Umer Khalid, who is currently on hunger strike at the facility.
Khalid is one of five people charged in relation to a break-in by Palestine Action members at an RAF base at Brize Norton last year, in which two military aircraft were damaged.
Khalid, who denies the charges, is one of several people who are on or who have taken part in hunger strikes in recent months, all of whom have been held on similar charges for over a year without their cases being brought to trial.
A spokesperson for the UK’s Ministry of Justice said: “The escalation of the protest at HMP Wormwood Scrubs is completely unacceptable. While we support the right to peacefully protest, reports of trespassing and threats being made to staff and police officers are deeply concerning.
“At no point was prison security compromised. However, where individuals’ actions cause risk or actual harm to hardworking staff, this will not be taken lightly and those responsible can expect to face consequences.
“Prisoners are being managed in line with longstanding policy. This includes regular checks by medical professionals, heart monitoring and blood tests, and support to help them eat and drink again. If deemed appropriate by healthcare teams, prisoners will be taken to hospital.”
