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New York (AFP)
With the imminent arrival of coronavirus vaccines that will need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, American companies are preparing for a massive logistical effort to aid their distribution.
Automaker Ford has ordered its own freezers, while meat-processing giant Smithfield said it is ready to make the cold room in its slaughterhouses available for vaccine deployment operations.
Companies specializing in insulated containers have been on the warpath for weeks.
The US logistics giant UPS is already producing 500 kilos of dry ice per hour in its warehouses and has developed portable freezers capable of storing vaccines at temperatures between -4 and -112 Fahrenheit (-20 and -80 degrees Celsius).
But companies that are not directly linked to the manufacture, storage or transport of vaccines are also intensifying.
“We have evaluated our capacities and ultra-low freezer capacity and are ready and willing to assist health agencies if storage capacity is limited,” said meat giant Smithfield chief administrative officer Keira Lombardo.
The meatpacker, which suffered a large number of Covid-19 cases in some of its slaughterhouses in the United States, said it is now ready to help authorities distribute the vaccine, particularly to workers in the agricultural and supply sector. of food, Lombardo said.
For its part, Ford has ordered a dozen freezers in advance of the arrival of vaccines, to offer them to employees who want them when they are available.
When the virus began to spread in the spring in the United States, the company had to temporarily close its factories. Since then, the group has resumed its activities, but with strict health precautions.
“The health and safety of our workforce is our top priority,” a spokesperson told AFP.
General Motors has not gone that far, but said it was in contact with US government agencies and health officials to “coordinate as needed when distribution plans are available.”
© 2020 AFP
