UPS Expects 40% Jump in Vaccine Doses Next Week, Peak in May - MSN
United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. are ramping up vaccine distribution, with plans for additional gains if Johnson & Johnson’s inoculation is cleared by U.S. regulators.
The couriers are handling about 10 million does a week on a combined basis and that number is set to climb to 14 million next week, said Wes Wheeler, chief of UPS’s health care unit. That doesn’t include the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine, which hasn’t yet been granted an emergency use authorization but has been found by U.S. regulators to be safe and effective.
Peak vaccine distribution will probably occur in May when other manufacturers, such as Novavax Inc., begin to ship their products, Wheeler said. The volume now is about a third of the expected peak level and there’s plenty of capacity to handle the surge, he said. Even when UPS reaches the maximum distribution level, the company estimates that vaccines will account for about 6% of the 24.7 million packages it delivers worldwide every day.
United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. are ramping up vaccine distribution, with plans for additional gains if Johnson & Johnson’s inoculation is cleared by U.S. regulators.
The couriers are handling about 10 million does a week on a combined basis and that number is set to climb to 14 million next week, said Wes Wheeler, chief of UPS’s health care unit. That doesn’t include the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine, which hasn’t yet been granted an emergency use authorization but has been found by U.S. regulators to be safe and effective.
Peak vaccine distribution will probably occur in May when other manufacturers, such as Novavax Inc., begin to ship their products, Wheeler said. The volume now is about a third of the expected peak level and there’s plenty of capacity to handle the surge, he said. Even when UPS reaches the maximum distribution level, the company estimates that vaccines will account for about 6% of the 24.7 million packages it delivers worldwide every day.
