When the COVID-19 pandemic began, we faced a series of hurdles, one after another. We thought that, when the quarantine restrictions were enforced, the worst had happened. But then, people started losing their jobs and struggled to keep their households somewhat afloat. When the death toll rose at staggering rates, we thought that we’d reached the peak of the pandemic. But then a new variant of the coronavirus started spreading, and we’re finding ourselves rising to the peak of the pandemic again.
The same manner happened with the development of vaccines. Researchers were fighting against time as they did their best to develop a vaccine. But they, fortunately, succeeded. They were able to develop a vaccine even before 2020 ended. However, the challenge doesn’t stop there. Now, pharmaceutical companies, local and federal governments, and other individuals are facing another obstacle. And that is the worldwide distribution of the vaccine.
As a business owner, you can contribute to the distribution efforts. You need to know how. Here is a guide for you.
Recognize and Highlight What You can Offer
Most, if not all, businesses have their niche in their respective industry. So when it comes to the COVID-19 distribution, the first that you need to do is understand what’s needed and see if you can offer it.
For example, a huge concern about the distribution is the storage. The vaccines must be stored in temperatures as low as minus 70 degrees Celsius or minus 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Your business might be specializing in storage services. Perhaps, expanding to cold storage services would be something that you can start. Experts have reported that cryogenic containers, in particular, will play a huge role in the success of the vaccine’s worldwide distribution.
If you’re in the business of maintaining storage, tanks, and others, you might want to venture into cryogenic tank maintenance. If you’re in the business of delivery, then you can provide drivers to transport the vaccines. The list goes on.
Partnerships and Coordination
As much as we want to, no company, government, or individual can handle the vaccine distribution independently. This proves that the distribution efforts are something that the whole world will have to collaborate on.
For example, top players in the shipping industry have already struck deals with governments. This is to make sure that the distribution is effective and fast. Pfizer is one of the pharmaceutical companies that have developed a vaccine in record time. It was reported that the company would work exclusively with the United Parcel Service (UPS), Inc., DHL, and FedEx Corp. to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine distribution.
As a business owner, you must find the right partners in this whole endeavor. You’ll need to work well with others. Otherwise, vaccines won’t reach all communities in the country. They also won’t reach other countries that are deeply in need of a vaccine.
Focus First on the Needs of Your Community
The dangers of playing a key role in vaccine distribution are losing sight of what’s important. Many businesses might fall prey to making so much profit out of this. Don’t get it wrong, though. Making a profit is very crucial, no matter how noble the cause is. But it shouldn’t be the only focus. The world is battling a pandemic, so you can help in this fight as responsible business owners.
Focus on how you can help your community. You might find that the biggest challenge is getting vaccines from faraway places. You might be able to help with that, especially so if you’re running a delivery or transportation company. Another issue that communities are facing is making sure that there are enough supplies to administer the vaccines. This means that healthcare workers would need personal protective equipment, syringes, and other essentials. As a manufacturer of such equipment, you might be able to ensure that there are enough supplies to go around.
Because these are very challenging times, everyone needs to do what they can to ensure that vaccine distribution will go as smoothly as possible. And a huge aspect to that is making sure that the focus would be on helping the distribution efforts.
Running a business that’s involved in vaccine distribution is challenging. Business owners need to iron out their partnerships, make sure that everyone’s trained properly to do their respective tasks, and that their products and services will meet the demand. But your business can succeed after this challenge passes. You’ll need to keep in mind these few lessons.
