Study Detail

Pilot study with Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur

Background
The entire world is battling against the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which has killed more than 3 million people so far. Public health interventions such as hand hygiene, masking, and social distancing are some of the most effective approaches for preventing the disease spread. However, these interventions are mainly behavioral and to practice them at the individual level and to sustain them collectively at the population level remains a daunting task. To date no specific antiviral drugs are available against this disease, the development and administration of vaccines are promising and lifesaving. At present, three vaccines have been approved by DCGI namely Covaxin, Covishield, and Sputnik V in India. Even though these vaccines are transported through conventional logistics, the threat of COVID-19 has prompted the development of a model to fight the pandemic. Fast and efficient vaccine delivery is being considered a bigger challenge especially in resource constrained settings and hard to reach areas. Drones have been utilized as a last mile delivery solution for essential drugs and vaccines in hard to reach areas. Considering these challenges, this study intends to test the technical feasibility of using drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) as a last-mile delivery solution for the COVID-19 vaccine administration in India.

Research Question
The aim of this study is to test the technical feasibility of using drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) as a solution to last-mile delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in India. Also we aim to develop a SOP for efficient delivery of vaccines using these UAVs.

Conclusion

• The drone was operated within the visual line of sight following a pre-defined GPS route and it was able to pick up, transport, and deliver the vaccine carrier box at defined coordinates in permitted ranches and conditions. No deviation from the defined path was observed throughout the study.
• The physical condition of dummy vaccine vials was as per the required standards after the completion of each drone trial. Also, payload, speed, altitude, and distance covered, were satisfactory. The internal temperature of the vaccine carrier box was maintained within the defined range (3.3°C to 3.8 °C) irrespective of the external climatic conditions.
• However, drones exhibit some technical limitations with regards to the battery life, payload capacity and maximum coverable distance (Annexure II).
• The current feasibility study shows that drones could be an effective and reliable mode of vaccine transportation for a predefined objectives and path. The current study was conducted in a controlled condition however; the possibilities should be explored in real field setting to consider it as a last mile delivery solution in hard to reach or difficult terrain.

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