Cathay Pacific Cargo says it has now shipped more than 15 million Covid-19 vaccines around the world.

The milestone figure includes vaccines that have been imported for use in Cathay Pacific’s home hub of Hong Kong, as well as supplies for distribution to countries including Mexico, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The 15 million figure was reached when the company delivered a new batch of Fosun Pharma/BioNTech vaccines into Hong Kong on Tuesday 13 April.

“This week, we also have two other shipments from Beijing to Mexico carrying doses of Sinovac and CanSino vaccines,” said Cathay Pacific’s head of cargo markets and products John Cheng. “All of these shipments deploy our new ‘Ultra Track’ multidimensional tracking and data-logging system.”

Cathay Pacific Cargo has so far carried five different Covid-19 vaccine brands: AstraZeneca, Fosun Pharma/BioNTech, CanSino, Covaxin and Sinovac. These require different handling temperatures ranging from -70°C to 2-8°C, according to Cheng.

Most of the vaccine delivery flights have been to online ports, but shipments such as those to Latin America and the Caribbean have demonstrated the resilience of Cathay Pacific Cargo’s extended network.

Cathay Pacific Cargo’s director cargo Tom Owen commented: “We are also hugely appreciative of the efforts from our operational teams across the world, whose expertise has enabled us to move these delicate vaccine shipments with confidence, ensuring they arrive at their destination in perfect condition.

“We stand ready to play our part to deliver more of these much-needed vaccines as the world tackles the global pandemic. Our ‘Vaccine Solution’ has proven itself to be ideally suited to the fast and effective distribution of vaccines across the globe, using our extensive global network of both freighter and passenger fleets.”