Covid-19 vaccine: UAE can reach 3.5 billion people in 5 hours

The UAE’s capital city can reach out to 3.5 billion people globally within five hours and offers a “unique proposition” to the world by storing and distributing Covid-19 vaccines as per requirements of any country in need, officials from the Hope Consortium said.

“This is not just for people in the UAE, but we’re also in a strategic location to reach 3.5b consumers around the world,” said Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamsi, Chairman, Hope Consortium Executive Committee, and Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Abu Dhabi Ports.

“Our partners, freight forwarders, and mainly Etihad Airways make it possible to reach the farthest distance. So, we are covering Africa, Asia, and Europe,” he said at the World Immunisation and Logistics Summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

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Abu Dhabi Ports has temperature-controlled facilities in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) and ensures safe delivery of Covid-19 vaccines through a track and trace system, and with investments into special vehicles for logistics, offers a full-packaged solution from manufacturers to consumers.

“We can handle the vaccine from the manufacturers, wherever it can be manufactured globally, source it within the UAE, we store it within Abu Dhabi and distribute it as and when needed by any country,” he added.

Abu Dhabi Ports can store more than 120 million Covid-19 vaccines and Hope Consortium is building a throughput capacity of 18 billion vaccine doses.

Tony Douglas, Group CEO, Etihad Aviation Group, said the national airline flew to 170 countries amid the Covid-pandemic. “We can reach 3.5 billion people within five hours,” he said.

Douglas said that it is important for wealthier countries to cater to the “slowest adopters”.

“Etihad has flown to places we have never ever flown in the past,” he added.

Douglas said the next phase of the Covid-19 pandemic comes with a fresh challenge of transporting 18b vaccines by the end of the year.

• Abu Dhabi