Corona: Drones Carry Vaccines to Remote Areas

As the cases of corona are surging across India, health experts are testing the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines by drones to remote rural communities in an effort to contain the pandemic.

“With every dose of the COVID-19 vaccine being so important, it is critical to ensure that countries have the support and tools to deliver vaccines effectively and efficiently to those who need them,” says Moz Siddiqui, head of the private sector partnerships and innovation at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “Drones enable us to supplement more traditional delivery systems. They are a great, unique solution to a problem faced by multiple countries.”

Through the Medicine from the Sky project, the southern states of Telangana and Karnataka will test COVID-19 vaccines drone delivery. The aerial shipment has been used in different regions of the world for medical goods, such as blood to Rwanda’s rural clinics. In poorer and rural communities, treatment and vaccines are harder to obtain, and road connectivity and challenging refrigerated transport make it even difficult to bring medicine and supply, hence the utility of drones.