India Coronavirus Dispatch: Drones can play a role in vaccine delivery

 

As we inch closer to the vaccine roll-out, the debate rages on about how to reach hundreds of millions of people in the most efficient way possible.

It will be a gigantic task even though India has an established vaccination delivery system owing to its universal immunisation programmes. India has the world’s largest railways and road networks but a new, efficient method of transporting vaccines would be required, say Abhishek Chakravarty, an Assistant Professor of Law at Sai University in Chennai, and Abhijit Rajkhowa a mechanical engineer with interest in public policy.

This is where a drone-based distribution system comes in. Many countries have used drones to deploy vaccines, since late 2018. There are instances of drone usage in emergency situations in India as well. The country's goal of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and a $5 trillion economy isn’t achievable by ignoring a revolutionary technology that can bolster the fight against the pandemic, the writers say. Read More