Drone vax delivery trial run by May-end

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 8

Days after the ICMR conducted a feasibility study for drone delivery of Covid-19 vaccines, the government on Saturday announced plans to conduct a trial run in Telangana by this month-end. Conditional exemption for experimental drone flights has been approved to expand vaccine delivery.

The objectives

• Faster vaccine delivery and improved healthcare access
• Ensuring primary healthcare delivery on citizen’s doorstep
• Limiting human exposure to Covid-congested/prone areas
• Ensuring healthcare access to residents in remote areas
• Improving the medical supply chain by transporting millions of doses across the country

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation have given exemption to Telangana for conducting experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flights for delivery of vaccines. This exemption shall be subject to complete adherence to the conditions and the directions and exemptions issued by the ministry.