How Abu Dhabi Aims To Lead Global Distribution Of COVID-19 Vaccines

Abu Dhabi has created a dedicated global logistics hub capable of helping with the distribution of up to six billion doses of any potential coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines, rising to over three times that amount by the end of next year.

The Hope Consortium is comprised of leading Abu Dhabi and global entities and represents a complete supply chain solution to address vaccine transport, demand planning, sourcing, training, and digital technology infrastructure, and facilitate vaccine availability across the world.

According to state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM), it will have the largest capacity and logistics capability regionally and one of the largest globally, capable of handling single or multi-doses, in cold or ultra-cold conditions.

“Developing a vaccine is only the first step in getting to a solution, getting that vaccine to the whole globe, while maintaining a robust integrity of temperature is an equal challenge by itself, the Hope Consortium will provide that solution on the highest level of quality,” said Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi.

Hope Consortium member Etihad Cargo and the group transported five million vaccines in November on behalf of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, which is spearheading the consortium and will oversee regulatory compliance, full chain expertise, and scientific insight.

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The consortium also includes Abu Dhabi Ports Group, Rafed, the healthcare purchasing arm of Abu Dhabi-based ADQ, and Switzerland’s award-winning SkyCell, which develops next-generation, temperature-controlled logistics containers for the pharmaceutical industry. As part of the Hope Consortium, SkyCell will establish a regional service and manufacturing centre in Abu Dhabi.

Distribution of the vaccines, which will be stored in Abu Dhabi Ports Company facilities, will be carried out by Etihad Cargo.

“With two-thirds of the world’s human footprint within a four-hour flight of Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital’s investment in technological expertise and world-class infrastructure facilities means we can serve as a global logistical hub to, and for, the world,” explained Tony Douglas, Group CEO, Etihad Aviation Group.

Last month, Emirates SkyCargo has it was creating the world’s first dedicated airside cargo hub in Dubai to handle the logistical complexities of distributing a potential coronavirus vaccine globally.

Less than a year after an unknown coronavirus that has claimed 1.4 million lives began spreading across the globe, a number of highly promising Covid-19 vaccines are on the cusp of release.

Health authorities could give a green light for emergency use within weeks, which would mark the most rapid vaccine development for a pandemic in history.

Since November 9, four drugmakers have announced that their vaccines work, most of them more than 90 percent of the time.

The first to report Phase 3 results was the US-German collaboration between pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech start-up BioNTech, followed by the US firm Moderna, a British partnership between AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and Russia’s state-run Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.