United Airlines Holdings Inc. began operating charter flights on Friday to deliver Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to get better conditions after inoculation was approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
United Airlines will fly cargo from Brussels Airport to Chicago.
(iStock)
The United Street Journal reports that United will fly chartered flights between Brussels International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport as part of the FAA-backed “First Mass Air Shipment of Vaccines.”
News of securing charter flights comes as firefighters began laying the groundwork for the vaccine to move quickly after the FDA and other regulators approved it.
According to the journal, Pfizer has increased storage capacity at specialized distribution points in Germany’s Pleasant Prairie, Whiskey., And Karlsruhe. The drug company plans to use a suitcase-sized stable storage in cargo planes and trucks to deliver the vaccine worldwide.
Pfizer and United Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
United Airlines will normally be allowed to carry five times the amount of dry ice on board to keep the vaccine at the required cold temperature.
Other cargo and passenger airlines have also begun preparations for future vaccine shipments, the journal said.
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Earlier, Rewandrew Peterson, an assistant professor of philosophy at George Mason University, brought up a critical issue of vaccine transport and distribution due to the fact that it should be stored at a temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius or higher.
“The logic of the Pfizer vaccine distribution, if proven safe and effective, will no doubt be Hercules’ work,” Petersen told Fox News. “Beyond the challenge of delivering the vaccine physically by air and land to distribution centers across the United States and internationally, there are additional barriers to keeping the vaccine at sub-zero temperatures and monitoring delivery for theft.”
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Last week, Pfizer and partner Bioentech requested urgent approval from their coronavirus vaccine candidate to reach the global population as soon as possible.
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The vaccine is said to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing people from getting sick during the three phases.
