DHL Express, the world’s leading express service provider, today delivered the Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccines donated by the United States government to Vietnam via COVAX. DHL Express managed the door-to-door shipping of the vaccines; first airlifting it from the US to Vietnam, and subsequently to designated locations in the country.

The arrival of these vaccines, which is part of the US donation to Southeast Asian countries, aims to help Vietnam and the region accelerate their vaccination programs to keep their populations safe, and ensure that their economies can recover quickly.

“Delivering our customers’ shipments, including life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies quickly and securely has always been our mission. We are honored to assist the US and Vietnam in this important battle against the global health crisis by tapping into our cold chain infrastructure, resilient global network, and deep pharmaceutical logistics knowledge and experience of our people,” said Bernardo Bautista, DHL Express Vietnam’s General Director and Country Manager. “In line with our purpose of “Connecting people, Improving Lives”, DHL Express has started delivering the COVID-19 vaccines to many countries since December 2020 and will continue to do so.”

One of the key challenges faced in the shipment of the COVID-19 vaccines is the stringent temperature requirements of the vaccine. The vaccine was delivered in specially designed thermal shipper packaging customized by the manufacturer. Each shipment was packed with dry ice to regulate the temperature, enabling its use in locations that lack the physical infrastructure to otherwise maintain the required temperature. Temperature trackers equipped with sophisticated GPS technology are fitted within each thermal shipping box to provide full visibility throughout the shipment’s entire journey.

More than 9,000 life sciences and healthcare specialists work across DHL’s dedicated global network so that pharmaceutical, medical devices, clinical trials and research organizations, wholesalers and distributors, as well as hospitals and healthcare providers are connected across the value chain, from clinical trials to point of care, and every step in between.

DHL’s portfolio for the healthcare industry includes 150+ pharmacists, 20+ clinical trials depots, 100+ certified stations, 160+ GDP-qualified warehouses, 15+ GMP-certified sites, 135+ medical express sites, and a time-definite international express network covering over 220 countries and territories.

On a global scale, logistics providers are challenged to establish a medical supply chain rapidly to deliver vaccines of unprecedented amount of more than 10 billion doses worldwide. It is particularly challenging in regions with less developed logistics infrastructures, where approximately 3 billion people live. To provide global coverage over the next two years, DHL estimated in its vaccine logistics whitepaper that up to 200,000 pallet shippers and 15 million cooling boxes as well as 15,000 flights will be required across the various supply chain setups.