UPS announced it surpassed the one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses delivered mark with near-perfect on-time accuracy. Just one year after the first vaccine was delivered by UPS, this milestone was made possible through UPS’s innovative approaches, one-of-a-kind UPS® Premier tracking technologies, industry-leading cold chain solutions, and an expansive, sophisticated, global network providing UPS HealthcareTM services to customers and communities around the world.
“UPSers have been essential in the fight against COVID-19, delivering equitable access to critical healthcare services’” said Chief Sales and Solutions Officer and Executive Vice President, UPS Global Healthcare Kate Gutmann.
“This milestone would not have been possible without every person in our global network working tirelessly, alongside our partners and customers, to accelerate vaccine distribution and help keep communities as safe as possible.”
The global UPS network and dedicated UPS employees not only supported healthcare customers and global organizations, but also joined in public-private partnerships to provide vaccines and cold chain expertise to countries with hard-to-reach populations, ensuring delivery to as many people as possible. To achieve this, UPS Healthcare mapped roughly 500 trade lanes to enable seamless worldwide vaccine shipments and used more than 1.35 million kilos of dry ice to help safely move vaccines.
“UPS Healthcare has set the global pace for COVID-19 vaccine delivery, supported by the unmatched dedication of UPSers and the company’s global logistics capabilities and expertise,” said UPS Healthcare President Wes Wheeler. “Medicines derived from biologics and delivered via cutting edge cold chain networks represent the future of healthcare, and UPS Healthcare is leading the way.”
On 16 December, UPS delivered the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines outside of the United States from Pfizer’s facilities in Belgium through Cologne, to Saudi Arabia. UPS coordinated the distribution of millions of vaccines in the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East, and Africa (ISMEA) by leveraging its smart global logistics network. Over the last 12 months, UPS has strengthened its commitment towards equitable vaccine delivery including delivering vaccines to rural areas across Africa, in addition to a US$1 million pledge by The UPS Foundation to help India’s fight against the COVID-19 surge in May 2021.
Rachid Fergati, Managing Director– Middle East, Indian subcontinent and Central Asia for UPS said, “The Middle East was one of the first regions where we began delivering life-saving vaccines, and with the dedication of our UPSers and partners, I am proud to mark this significant milestone. The fight isn’t over, and we’ll continue to deliver vaccines safely to communities all over the world.”
“Partnership and collaboration with government entities in the region were vital to ensuring UPS was in a position to deliver what matters. We remain committed to working with our key partners to move the world forward.”
Unique examples of UPS’s global efforts include:
- Ultra-cold freezer donations and in-kind vaccine deliveries to facilitate equitable distribution to remote and rural areas throughout Africa, South America, Asia, North America, and Europe, made possible by The UPS Foundation.
- Three Regional 24/7 UPS Healthcare Command Centers, dedicated to predicting and managing the global vaccine movement to ensure on-time delivery, with contingency plans and solutions to mitigate the risks of extreme weather and other obstacles.
- Partnering with Gavi and other organisations to train and manage ultra-cold vaccine movement in COVAX countries, supporting COVID relief and healthcare infrastructure moving forward.
- Embedded UPS logistic experts in countries including Indonesia and Malawi to fully and safely manage vaccine distribution logistics.
- UPS support of vaccine doses delivered via autonomous aircraft to clinics in Africa through the partnership between Zipline and Gavi.
- Real-time visibility into the location of vaccines through UPS® Premier technology, which provides precise visibility into every single vaccine package – down to within 10 feet of its location anywhere in the UPS global network.
- Supported over 130 vaccine clinical trials to date through the UPS Healthcare subsidiary Marken, which is involved in nearly all vaccines and treatments in development today.
“Service is in our DNA. We will continue to provide life-saving supplies, vaccines and other therapies with a constant eye on equitable distribution in every country we serve,” said Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Laura Lane, who also has responsibility for global social impact and sustainability.
