The smooth distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine remains a cause of concern for many countries. India, due to an enormous population, can face a humongous challenge while distributing the Covid-19 vaccine and that is why the government is mulling regulatory changes to quicken the procedure of its transportation, says a report.

An AFS, an off-airport cargo-handling facility, apart from managing the goods for shipment, reduces congestion at the main airport terminal.

As per the plan, export and import clearances for cargo; including Customs activities like assessment, examination, and duty payment; will be provided at the AFS. It will be built near vaccine factories.

Companies in India like the Serum Institute, Bharat Biotech, and Zydus Cadila are in the process of manufacturing vaccines which, besides being used here, will be exported.

Other cross-border regulatory agencies such as the plant quarantine office and drug controller office will also be accommodated in the AFS. This will cut down the dwell time, enabling a faster reach of vaccines to medical facilities.

Dwell time is what a cargo consignment takes to leave the airport premises after all Customs permits and security clearances have been obtained.

“We are discussing if it is possible to move vaccines directly from the factory to the aircraft.

We are also discussing the concept and procedure with security agencies like the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and Customs,” a government official said.

The official further said it was “important to cut down the time between the vaccine leaving the factory and its getting into the aircraft”. The government has formed a task force for administering vaccines to a large population by mid-2021, while keeping health care workers and front line warriors on priority.

A sub-committee of this task force is focusing on logistics, which will include building cold storage facilities and seamless transfers of vaccines from airports to vaccination centres. If approved, the government-owned Airports Authority of India’s (AAI’s) subsidiary AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company may be tasked with building the AFS.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has been asked by the task force to ensure a faster approval process for overflight and landing permits for foreign freighter jets carrying vaccines.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that a locally-developed Covid-19 vaccine candidate could complete its final trials in a month or two, raising hopes for a rapid roll-out across the country.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Bharat Biotech this month started third-stage trials of Covaxin, in a process that would involve 26,000 volunteers. It is the most advanced Indian experimental vaccine.

Tushar Jani, chairman of Cargo Service Centre (CSC), which operates the cargo terminal at Mumbai airport, said the facility could handle eight 747 freighters daily. CSC has the capacity to handle 25,000 tonnes per month and is ordering 10 additional cool dollies.

“We are ready to handle Covid-19 vaccine. Every day we handle 300 tonnes of pharma products, including 30-40 tonnes of vaccines,” Jani said.

The unavailability of storage facilities for vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna will make distribution challenging within India and will be a factor in selecting a vaccine by the government. While the Pfizer candidate needs to be stored at minus 70 degree Celsius, the one by Moderna requires it to be kept at minus 20 degree Celsius.

Vaccines manufactured by Indian companies are expected to have a storage requirement of 2-8 degree Celsius. “Most of the infrastructure here is geared to handle products in that temperature range,” Jani said.

Airlines in India are also scouting for alliances with local vaccine makers and building cold storage facilities.

Ajay Singh-owned SpiceJet, which is the only passenger airline to have freighter aircraft, is planning to set up cold chains and temperature-controlled warehouses. “We have developed sufficient capacity for transporting Covid-19 vaccines,” an airline spokesperson said.