Bonn. The first emergency approvals of COVID-19 vaccines, which are expected in the last quarter of 2020, present the logistics industry with the challenge of delivering medical supply chains for the worldwide delivery of an unprecedented amount of more than ten billion individual doses in a very short period of time to organize. In collaboration with McKinsey & Company, DHL publishes a study that looks at building stable supply chains for vaccines and medical goods during the COVID-19 pandemic and future health crises. Over 250 possible vaccines are currently being developed and tested on seven research platforms. Since study phases were partially skipped in the case of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly strict temperature requirements of down to -80 ° C may be placed on certain drugs in order to maintain their effectiveness during transport and storage. This means completely new logistical challenges for existing medical supply chains, since vaccines are usually distributed at a temperature of around 2 to 8 ° C.
Public-private partnerships are becoming more important
In the study, DHL is investigating how this transport of high-temperature-sensitive vaccines can be designed effectively to support the fight against the further spread of the virus. To ensure a global supply of COVID-19 vaccines, around 200,000 pallet transports, 15 million deliveries in cool boxes and 15,000 flights will be required in the various supply chains. “In recent months it has been shown that careful planning and appropriate partnerships within such supply chains can play a key role when governments move to secure the provision of critical medical supplies in times of crisis like this,” said Katja Busch, Chief Commercial Officer of DHL . In order to guarantee stable medical care in the event of future health crises, governments must work with partners from the public and private sectors to establish a comprehensive system of crisis strategies and structures in the public health system, the DHL study found. It provides a framework for the dialogue between logistics companies, authorities, politicians, NGOs and the life sciences industry.
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