Airbus helicopters are being used in more than 30 countries around the world to distribute Covid-19 vaccines to isolated areas, the Franco-German rotorcraft manufacturer said today. The company highlighted operations in Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and France, where its helicopters have been used for last-mile transport of vaccine supplies.
Chilean authorities have deployed helicopters and aircraft to distribute Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in the country. This airlift includes a BK117 from the Prefectura Aérea de Carabineros and a Chilean Navy AS365 Panther, as well as a Suma Air H125 that transported 85 doses of the vaccine from Santiago to Quillota Hospital.
In Minas Gerais, Brazil, the local fire brigade’s two H125 helicopters and one airplane have been tasked with distributing 560,000 vaccine doses in the state. Public-security H125s also were in charge of transporting a share of the 70,000 doses in the state of Alagoas, while in the state of Ceará, a CIOPAer H145 flew vaccines to remote areas.
The Mexican government has established eight air routes for the distribution of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines using eight aircraft, including a Sedena National Defense H225M and three airplanes to distribute 440,000 doses in less than 24 hours. The Mexican Navy also used a Panther AS565 to transport 200 doses from Hermosillo to Puerto Peñasco.
In Spain, the armed forces flew vaccines from Getafe (near Madrid) to the Canary and Balearic Islands, while a Spanish Army H215M Cougar delivered the vaccine in containers of dry ice refrigerated to -104 degrees F to the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla on Africa’s north coast.
Beginning last week, France’s Securité Civile Airbus helicopter fleet began transporting vaccines to the Brittany Islands off the coast of western France. Medical teams vaccinated 77 people on the Île d’Arz and 100 doses were flown to the Hoedic and Houat islands.