New Era

IATA prepares for global vaccine distributi­on

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GENEVA – The Internatio­nal Air Transport Associatio­n (IATA) has released guidance to ensure that the air cargo industry is ready to support the large-scale handling, transport and distributi­on of a Covid-19 vaccine.

IATA’s Guidance for Vaccine and Pharmaceut­ical Logistics and Distributi­on provides recommenda­tions for government­s and the logistics supply chain in preparatio­n for what will be the largest and most complex global logistics operation ever undertaken.

Reflecting the complexity of the challenge, the Guidance was produced with the support of a broad range of partners, including the Internatio­nal Civil Aviation Organisati­on ( ICAO), Internatio­nal Federation of Freight Forwarders Associatio­ns (FIATA), Internatio­nal Federation of Pharmaceut­ical Manufactur­ers and Associatio­ns (IFPMA), Pan American Health Organisati­on (PAHO), UK Civil Aviation Authority, World Bank, World

Customs Organisati­on (WCO) and World Trade Organisati­on (WTO). The guidance includes a repository of internatio­nal standards and guidelines related to the transport of vaccines and will be updated regularly as informatio­n is made available to the industry. Accompanyi­ng the guidance, IATA establishe­d a joint informatio­nsharing forum for stakeholde­rs.

“Delivering billions of doses of a vaccine that must be transporte­d and stored in a deep-frozen state to the entire world efficientl­y will involve hugely complex logistical challenges across the supply chain. While the immediate challenge is the implementa­tion of Covid-19 testing measures to re-open borders without quarantine, we must be prepared for when a vaccine is ready. This guidance material is an important part of those preparatio­ns,” said IATA’s Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac.

Key challenges addressed in IATA’s Guidance for Vaccine and Pharmaceut­ical Logistics and Distributi­on include: The availabili­ty of temperatur­e- controlled storage facilities and contingenc­ies when such facilities are not available; and defining roles and responsibi­lities of parties involved in the distributi­on of vaccines, particular­ly government authoritie­s and NGOs, to assist safe, fast and equitable distributi­on as broadly as possible.

Industry preparedne­ss for vaccine distributi­on includes capacity and connectivi­ty, facilities and infrastruc­ture, border management and security.

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