The Indian Air Force (IAF) is fully prepared to pitch in for the distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine to the farthest reaches of the country using its extensive fleet of transport aircraft, people familiar with developments said on Sunday.
Though there has been no official request so far from the government to the armed forces to assist in the delivery and distribution of a vaccine, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity that there are no doubts about the IAF’s capability to transport millions of doses across the country.
“There has been no formal request till now for the IAF to help in the transportation of a Covid-19 vaccine. But we do have a formidable fleet of transport aircraft and we can pitch in at short notice if required,” said one of the people. \
It is understood that the military has worked out modalities that will have to be put in place for transporting vaccines if there is a request from the government. This will primarily involve moving vaccines from the 28,000-unit cold storage network and ensuring the doses reach remote areas without losing their efficacy.
“The vaccines will be transported in special boxes and there will be no need to reconfigure the aircraft to carry them. It’s not as if the aircraft will have to be modified in any way,” the person cited above said.
By Hindustan Times
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