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Home » It’s time to prepare for health care’s biggest logistics challenge ever
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It’s time to prepare for health care’s biggest logistics challenge ever

Supply chains will be the critical link in getting Covid-19 vaccines to all of us. And there is no time to waste.

July 17, 2020
David Maloney
One Comment

It may be the largest, fastest, and most critical ramp-up in American history. I’m talking about the development of the logistics infrastructure required to handle the distribution of hundreds of millions of doses of the Covid-19 vaccine once it’s approved.

And it will be those of us who run the nation’s supply chains who will be responsible for making it happen.

While we’ve heard a lot about the race to develop a safe and effective vaccine (which hopefully will be ready for approval around the time the calendar turns), there has been scant discussion of how that vaccine will get to all of us.

Never before has the entire world needed the same medical treatment all at once—all 7.6 billion of us. We can’t rely on the usual health-care supply chains for the largest health initiative ever. They would be overwhelmed by the unprecedented volume.

So, what will be needed? Here’s what we know right now: There will likely be several vaccines ready within months of each other. Each may have different handling requirements. They may require more than one dose and will likely need temperature control, meaning that our nation’s cold chain capabilities will be tested as well.

Air, truck, rail, and parcel capabilities will all be needed to make this happen quickly. Any delays could cost additional lives. Other technologies, such as smart labels, visibility tools, and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and sensors to monitor temperatures, will also be required to assure that the vaccines stay potent in transit.

We don’t have a lot of time to prepare. We have to begin now, not wait until the vaccines are ready before we act. It simply won’t work. And we can’t wait for the federal government to take the lead. The current administration has already proven that it’s neither capable nor willing to provide the necessary leadership for the incredible task before us. Just look at the shortages of testing kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) that we’re still experiencing more than six months into the pandemic, and it’s clear that the government is not up to the task.

Therefore, it’s up to us to step up. As an industry, we need leaders to coordinate with vaccine manufacturers, the medical community, and immunization experts to ensure we have the infrastructure and capacity to ramp up distribution with hyperspeed. As we have done so effectively before—in forming the American Logistics Aid Network, for example—we need to swiftly mobilize the resources needed for the job ahead. Let’s make it happen!

Transportation Supply Chain Services Air Trucking Rail Intermodal Parcel & Postal Carriers Automatic Data Capture RFID Supply Chain Strategy Global Logistics Disaster Response
KEYWORDS American Logistics Aid Network
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Davidmaloney
David Maloney has been a journalist for more than 35 years and is currently the editorial director for DC Velocity and Supply Chain Quarterly magazines. In this role, he is responsible for the editorial content of both brands of Agile Business Media. Dave joined DC Velocity in April of 2004. Prior to that, he was a senior editor for Modern Materials Handling magazine. Dave also has extensive experience as a broadcast journalist. Before writing for supply chain publications, he was a journalist, television producer and director in Pittsburgh. Dave combines a background of reporting on logistics with his video production experience to bring new opportunities to DC Velocity readers, including web videos highlighting top distribution and logistics facilities, webcasts and other cross-media projects. He continues to live and work in the Pittsburgh area.

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