American Airlines transports first COVID-19 vaccine to the Caribbean
The American Airlines Cargo transported its first shipment of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to a U.S. territory in the Caribbean last Sunday.
In a release, American Airlines Cargo President Jessica Tyler said they are proud of this milestone.
“The American team is proud to be a part of the critical effort to get lifesaving vaccine safely and quickly to people around the world. We were able to mobilize within hours of getting the call to move thousands of doses. We know this is the first of many shipments to come, and we are ready to scale our operation as additional vaccines are produced and ready for distribution.”
AA also added that they have begun conducting trial flights in November to simulate the conditions required to transport the COVID-19 vaccine, stress testing the thermal packaging and operational handling process to ensure it remains stable in transit.
“American is an internationally recognized expert in cold chain logistics with an established network of facilities and team members who specialize in temperature-critical shipments to more than 150 cities in 46 countries around the world. In addition, American has the largest dedicated temperature-controlled pharmaceutical shipping facility operated by an airline in the United States.”
The statement also said that because of the expert level of care American Airlines given, they have earned the International Air Transport Association’s prestigious Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) certification.
CEIV certification is given to air carriers and players in the air cargo supply chain that have established the tools, procedures and staffing to ensure life sciences products are properly handled and arrive at their destination fully effective.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, American has been transporting hundreds of thousands of pounds of personal protective equipment (PPE), medical equipment, COVID-19 test kits and pharmaceuticals to help battle the coronavirus, as well as components for Phase III COVID-19 vaccine trials.
The statement however does not specify which US territory but there are only two in the Caribbean — Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.