UN recruits 40 airlines to help deliver vaccine to world’s poor

UN humanitarian relief agency Unicef is looking to recruit some of the airline industry’s biggest operators to help distribute a coronavirus vaccine to the world’s poorest nations. Unicef, which normally provides aid to children, held a call with about 40 carriers Monday to make plans for the global airlift and to identify what tasks each party can perform, according to Glyn Hughes, head of cargo at the IATA, which helped arrange the meeting. Unicef, already the world’s largest buyer of vaccines, is leading efforts to purchase and distribute Covid shots to 92 states with funds from the GAVI immunization program, which brings together governments, the World Health Organization and World Bank. Another 80 higher-income countries have chosen it to procure inoculations they will buy, extending the plan to 70% of the world’s population. The summons to airlines was triggered by positive late-stage trial results reported by Pfizer and Moderna on two separate vaccines, Hughes said. Neither has yet been approved for use, but attention is turning toward how a successful shot can be distributed, especially to less well off countries without the resources for mass purchases. About 30 of the largest cargo airlines were invited to participate in the call, Hughes said. They included express-delivery specialists such as FedEx and UPS and dedicated freighter operators like Cargolux Airlines International.<br/>