United Airlines on Friday began operating charter flights carrying the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech to expedite its distribution should it receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Journal reviewed a letter from the Federal Aviation Administration detailing United’s plans to fly chartered flights between Brussels International Airport — Pfizer has a final-assembly center in Puurs, Belgium — and Chicago O’Hare International Airport, and the FAA said in a statement Friday it was supporting the “first mass air shipment of a vaccine.” The agency will also allow United to carry 15,000 pounds of dry ice per flight, five times more than what is normally permitted, to ensure the low storage temperature required for Pfizer’s vaccine are maintained throughout the flight.
(Thanks to our friends at The Week Magazine for this important COVID update)