UPS is partnering with Covax and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to deliver 20 million COVID-19 vaccines to four continents, the company said March 4.
Covax is a global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and is led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, an organization created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
UPS said the current global vaccination rate is about 6 million doses per day, and that it would take 5.4 years to vaccinate 75 percent of the global population with a two-dose vaccine at that rate.
"We believe we have the ability — and responsibility — to facilitate and accelerate equitable COVID-19 vaccine delivery around the world,” Scott Price, president of UPS International, said in a news release.
The 20 million vaccines will go to countries in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe.
Mr. Price told CNBC March 4 that UPS tags each vaccine shipment and tracks it through Bluetooth, WiFi and cellular so the company always knows where it is and can divert it if there are any issues, such as bad weather.
"We are interdependent as a global community — no one is safe until everyone is safe," Nikki Clifton, president of the UPS Foundation, said in a news release. "Now is the time to link our arms around the world. Now is the time to deliver vaccines — and hope — to everyone, regardless of wealth or location."
Read the full news release here.