Role of medical drones in global Covid vaccine campaign is growing

"Zipline, the California-based drone start-up that delivers critical medical supplies in countries like Ghana and Rwanda, is pursuing a larger role in the Covid-19 global vaccine effort and taking on one of the trickiest logistical challenges: cold-chain storage.
Earlier this week, Nigeria’s Kaduna state signed a deal with Zipline allowing the drone delivery of Covid-19 vaccines. Kaduna’s partnership with Zipline, which delivered more than 1 million doses of other vaccines in Africa over the past year, will also enable on-demand delivery of blood products, medications and other vaccines.
The deal with Kaduna did not include cold chain storage, but separately, Zipline is working on a plan to distribute Covid-19 vaccines with end-to-end cold chain capabilities. The ultra-cold temperatures required for storing the Covid-19 vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany-based BioNTech has not only driven a buying frenzy for freezers and dry ice, but also created logistical challenges for cash-strapped medical facilities that may not be able to afford such equipment...." Lire la suite