UPS Hopes to Give Providers a Shot in the Arm with U.S. Vaccine Project

UPS has been focusing intently on building its logistics capabilities over the past decade. Now, the company is using what it has learned to expand its health care focus. A recent Reuters report says UPS is preparing to test a U.S. service that dispatches nurses to vaccinate adults in their homes, as the company and its health care clients work to fend off cost pressures and threats from Amazon.com.

The package delivery company did not disclose which vaccines it would use in the project, but Merck & Co. told Reuters it is looking at partnering with the company for the initiative. Here’s how the test, slated to launch later this year, will work: UPS will package and ship vaccines to one of the more than 4,700 franchised UPS stores nationally. A home health nurse contracted by UPS’ clinical trial logistics unit will collect the insulated package, transport it to the patient’s home and administer the vaccine, which will target a viral illness in adults.

In other news, UPS announced a groundbreaking service to deliver medical samples via unmanned drones at WakeMed’s flagship hospital and campus in Raleigh, N.C., with oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration and North Carolina Department of Transportation. The service is designed to expedite deliveries, lower costs and improve the patient experience with what the company calls potentially life-saving results.