Envirotainer, a supplier of secure cold-chain solutions for air transportation of pharmaceuticals, has announced it has shipped one billion COVID-19 vaccines in its fleet of air cargo containers. The company is now calling for continued collaboration between pharmaceutical firms and the logistics industry.
The company’s fleet of more than 6,500 temperature-controlled air cargo containers are designed to maintain constant internal temperature ensuring treatments arrive in suitable condition.
With much of Europe introducing restrictions to reduce cases, the sector needs to be ready to meet increased demand for vaccines and boosters, the company says.
Just 56.9% of the world population has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to research from Our World In Data. In continuing and expanding the roll out of vaccines across the globe, manufacturers, forwards, airlines and cold chain-solutions providers need to work seamlessly as extensions of each other.
For Envirotainer, the company says, this calls for total transparency on which consignments are crucial and need to be prioritised. It also requires further advance planning. Not only in terms of keeping COVID-19 treatments moving, but also other drugs.
Niklas Adamsson, Envirotainer’s COO said: “We’re incredibly proud of handling a billion vaccines at a time when air freight has been restricted and demand has been sky high. This is thanks to the incredible collaboration we’ve been part of across the industry.
“We’ve worked closely with our partners and customers, and now want to work even closer with those efforts in the face of Omicron. It’s crucial we continue to work in unity across the cold-chain to get the next doses to the patients, where they’re needed. It’s our responsibility as part of the fight against coronavirus, and we’re ready to do all we can.”
