Zipline, a company that has made its name using drones to deliver medicines to remote locations in countries like Rwanda, has announced that it is to expand its capability to include all COVID vaccines.
In a press release, Zipline said that it is partnering with a COVID vaccine manufacturer, the identity of which was not disclosed, to add on the ability to deliver vaccines that require ultra cold temperatures in specialised refrigerated containers.
For remote rural locations, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is not an option because of its stringent temperature storage requirements of minus 70 degrees celsius. In such situations, the choice of COVID vaccines is limited to the more expensive Moderna vaccine, which still requires freezing temperatures, or vaccines like those from Johnsons & Johnson or AstraZeneca, which don’t have as high effectiveness but are able to be stored at normal refrigerator temperature ranges.
Zipline is planning to add these ultracold storage refrigerators at all of its drone bases. A clinic in its network would be able to request a few dozen doses of vaccine, and the company’s drones would be able to deliver it in a special refrigerated container.
Zipline operates fixed-wing, battery-powered drones that can make a round trip of up to 80 kilometres. Each base that the drones operate from can service an area of over 22 500 square kilometres, completely ignoring difficult terrain and lack of road access which may endanger drivers. A trip which could take hours in a 4 by 4 can be done in under an hour.
The drones can deliver a 1.75kg payload by parachute at a designated location, and return to base. Since the drone navigates by GPS, it can do so in a range of weather conditions, and by day or night.
Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo said that his company wants to help rural areas that have been hard hit by COVID. “Where you live shouldn’t determine whether or not you get a COVID-19 vaccine,” he said in the release. “We can help health systems bypass infrastructure and supply chain challenges through instant delivery.”
Source: Bloomberg
