Special Handling at Sheremetyevo Enables Shipment of Sputnik V Vaccine from Moscow to Serbia

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Dec 04, 2020, 15:25 ET

MOSCOW, Dec. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sheremetyevo International Airport was the launching point for the shipment of an early batch of Sputnik V, the Russian vaccine against coronavirus COVID-19 and the first vaccine developed in the world, from Moscow to Serbia this week.

Serbian experts will decide on the use of the vaccine in the country after clinical trials at the Torlak Public Health Institute.

A prototype of the Russian COVID-19 Vaccine, Sputnik V, was flown from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport to Serbia.

Prototypes of the most anticipated drug in the world—20 doses—were sent on December 3 at 10:45 am on Aeroflot flight SU2090 to Belgrade with the support of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

Transportation of Sputnik V requires special attention at all points of the logistics chain and strict adherence to special temperature requirements at all stages of transportation. Vaccines are usually transported and stored at two to eight degrees Celsius. However, in order to avoid disrupting the stability of the COVID-19 vaccine, the first batches of the drug must be maintained at ultra-low temperatures. This requires deep freezing during transportation using specialized thermal containers and ice packs.

On December 2, the vital cargo was taken by the main cargo operator of the airport, Moscow Cargo LLC, to the warehouse, where all the necessary temperature requirements and other storage conditions were observed until the container was loaded onto the aircraft. Moscow Cargo's extensive experience in servicing pharmaceuticals, including vaccines, allows it to guarantee the shortest possible time for cargo handling at the required temperature.

Special thermal equipment and isothermal containers are used for the transportation of cargo classified as TSSP, or time & temperature sensitive products, along the apron. The terminal has 26 independent storage areas for TTSP cargoes, all with individually adjustable temperature conditions from -20 to +25° C, as well as 60 thermocells in the automated PCHS (Pallet / Container Handling System) for storing unit load devices (ULDs) holding temperature-sensitive cargo.

Earlier, in mid-November, a similar cargo was shipped from Sheremetyevo Moscow Cargo terminal to Budapest: https://www.moscow-cargo.com/news/otpravka-pervoj-partii-rossijskoj-vakciny-sputnik-v-ot-covid-19-cherez-terminal-moskva-kargo

SOURCE Sheremetyevo International Airport