UPS, Delta prepare for vaccine shipments

UPS and Delta Air Lines are gearing up for the massive endeavor of shipping COVID-19 vaccines around the world, once doses are available.

Sandy Springs-based UPS is expanding freezer farms in Louisville, Kentucky, and CEO Carol Tomé told investors Wednesday the company has been working on logistics for clinical trials, giving it “valuable data and insights” for distribution.

Delta, which has its largest hub at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, said it has expanded its cooler facilities at its Atlanta warehouse and will use a special cooler container in cargo holds of its planes to ship vaccines.

Air cargo is normally a key part of distributing temperature-sensitive vaccines but will require lots of advance planning with governments, according to the International Air Transport Association. The industry group has warned of “potentially severe capacity constraints in transporting vaccines by air.”

UPS, expected to play a leading role alongside package-delivery rival FedEx, said its UPS Premier package sensor technology can monitor vaccine shipments with priority handling.

The shipper has been working with FEMA to transport goods since the spring, when it added more than 200 air freighter flflights to ship test kits, masks, gloves and other supplies. Marken, a UPS subsidiary, has for years played a role in logistics for clinical trials, shipping temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals to trial participants and specimens to laboratories.

UPS also has tested drones for humanitarian efforts to deliver vaccines and blood in Rwanda in partnership with vaccine alliance Gavi.

Delta, for its part, was the first U.S. passenger carrier to get a pharma logistics certification from the International Air Transport Association Center for Excellence. Delta said it can transport temperature-sensitive shipments across the Atlantic Ocean with joint venture partner Air France-KLM Cargo.