The global COVID-19 vaccination effort is being slowed by logistical problems with last-mile delivery, industry leaders told CNBC Jan. 26.
"I said from the beginning it will not be a problem of global logistics, it will be a problem of last-mile [delivery] from our warehouses to doctors, or whoever, because it is difficult to transport minus-70 degrees products," Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post, a logistics company, told CNBC.
Dorothea von Boxberg, chief commercial officer of Lufthansa Cargo, an air freight and logistics company, told CNBC: "You don’t only need the vaccine, but you also have to have the patient, the doctor, additional material like syringes. So, it is a big, big logistical effort to get everything in place, and also keeping the cold chain at the same time for the vaccines."
She added that the air freight industry is prepared to deliver vaccines, and there should be no bottlenecks in that section of the vaccine supply chain, saying that "every freighter is in the air every time it can be" to deliver vaccines.
The United Nations last week said it is working with airlines, freight and logistics companies to "ensure safe and timely delivery" of COVID-19 vaccines to all corners of the world, according to CNBC.
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