DHL delivers Israel’s first Covid-19 vaccines
15 / 12 / 2020
Last week, DHL Express and DHL Global Forwarding operated flights, carrying Covid-19 vaccines, to Israel.
The vaccines onboard were the first to be received by the country and the initial flight, which was operated by DHL Express last Wednesday, was received by the country’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The next flight that delivered vaccines to Israel was carried out by DHL Global Forwarding and arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport on December 10.
DHL said it is preparing to carry out more vaccine distribution flights this month, and further in the future, from its global hubs.
Travis Cobb, head of global network operations and aviation at DHL Express, commented: “After numerous months of preparation we are happy that our mission of vaccine distribution has now started and we could contribute our logistics expertise and capabilities to make vaccine accessible worldwide.
“The current crisis has shown how indispensable international logistics networks are for ensuring that societies have the necessary personal protective equipment and test kits to secure their health. Now we are embarking on the next step in our common fight against the coronavirus. Our teams across 220 countries and territories and our global network as the backbone of cross-border Express logistics is ready – to deliver anytime and anywhere.”
Thomas Mack, head of global airfreight at DHL Global Forwarding, added: “The development of a coronavirus vaccine is a silver lining and we are proud to play an active role as the most global logistics provider in bringing this silver lining to people.
“With our extensive logistics expertise in the Life Sciences & Healthcare sector paired with the commitment and passion of our people we want to play our part in making the Corona pandemic history. That’s the purpose of Deutsche Post DHL Group – connecting people and improving lives.”
-
Kuehne+Nagel selected to handle vaccine distribution in Germany’s most populous state
-
US cargo carriers fly US Covid-19 vaccine shipments following FDA approval
-
DHL expands freighter deal with Cargojet
DHL’s healthcare portfolio includes more than 9,000 specialist staff working, 150 pharmacists, 20 clinical trials depots, 100 certified stations, 160 GDP-certified warehouses, 15 GMP-certified sites and 135 medical express sites.
DHL also has a fleet of 260 freighters, numerous partner airlines and a hub and gateway network spanning more than 220 countries. This, it says, makes it “optimally equipped and prepared for a worldwide supply of Covid-19 vaccines”.
It added: “On a global scale logistics providers are challenged to establish medical supply chain rapidly to deliver vaccines of unprecedented amount of more than 10bn doses worldwide – also in regions with less developed logistics infrastructures, where approximately 3bn people live.
“To provide global coverage of the next two years, up to 200,000 pallet shippers and 15m cooling boxes as well as 15,000 flights will be required across the various supply chain setups.”