Two truckloads from the Moderna vaccine arrived in Louisville Sunday morning at UPS Worldport.
Each semi had hundreds of boxes from the vaccine, according to a pool report. One of the first batch of packages is going to be delivered locally while UPS will transport the rest elsewhere.
UPS spokesperson Jim Mayer said both this vaccine and also the Pfizer vaccine that started shipping last week are temperature-controlled, and UPS knows handling critical medical deliveries. However these packages are different since they are closely monitored through the Health Care Command Center.
“The command center gets information from the trackers in each box, showing temperatures and any other parameters,” he explained.
One of the UPS employees unloading the shipments was Jesirae Elzey, a bundle handler. She said she's happy to take part in getting the vaccines to Louisville and around the world – and even perhaps to Guam, where she's from.
“I've had friends and family who have had it, including a newborn,” said Jesirae Elzey, a bundle handler. “It feels great that we can help her.”
One of the semi drivers, Todd Elble, lost his father to COVID-19.
“When I was inspired to do that, I could not imagine a better honor to complete for my father than to do this today,” he explained.
