KUALA LUMPUR: DHL Express today successfully delivered the United States (US) government’s donation of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to Malaysia.
The logistics provider said the arrival of around 1,000,000 doses came as part of a recent US commitment to assist with recovery efforts worldwide.
DHL Express Asia Pacific chief executive officer Ken Lee said the shipment was made possible via the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) programme that aimed to accelerate global equitable access to immunisation against the pandemic.
“We are deeply honoured by the trust that our customers have placed in us and I’m incredibly proud that the team has yet again stepped up to successfully deliver another batch of Covid-19 vaccines to Malaysia.
“As DHL Express continues to leverage our global network and strong medical logistics expertise to ensure that these life-saving vaccines arrive safely and promptly, we must also remind ourselves of the need for collaboration among various parties and countries to manage this public health crisis effectively,” he said in a statement today.
DHL Express arranged for the collection of the vaccines from facilities in the US before it was airlifted
from its Cincinnati Hub to the DHL Express Subang Gateway, where it would be distributed to
designated locations in Kuala Lumpur.
It said that from door-to-door, the journey spanned only four days in complete compliance with stringent handling and storage requirements.
Meanwhile, DHL Express Malaysia and Brunei managing director Julian Neo said to date, DHL had transported more than 300 million doses of approved vaccines worldwide, five million of which were to Malaysia.
“The shipment today marks another milestone in combatting the spread of Covid-19 and contributing to the country’s recovery. In keeping with our mandate of connecting people and improving lives, we are proud to continue playing an active role in seeking a safe, new normal for the businesses and communities we serve,” he said.
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 organisations, wholesalers and
distributors, as well as hospitals and healthcare providers are connected across the value chain and
through digitalisation, from clinical trials to point of care, and every step in between.
DHL’s portfolio for the healthcare industry includes 150-plus pharmacists, over 20 clinical trials depots, more than 100 certified stations, 160-plus GDP (good distribution practices)-qualified warehouses, 15-plus GMP (good manufacturing practices)-certified sites, over 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 medical supply chain rapidly to deliver
vaccines of unprecedented amount of more than 10 billion doses worldwide -- also in regions with less
developed logistics infrastructures, where about 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 would be required across the various supply chain setups. -Bernama
