Drones may be cheaper alternative to deliver vaccines

Using unmanned drones to deliver lifesaving vaccines in low- and middle-income countries may help save money as well as improve vaccination rates, a new study suggests. The cost savings would come from drones being able to deliver vaccines more quickly and cheaply than land-based methods limited by road conditions and the need for costly fuel and maintenance, the researchers said. “Many low- and middle-income countries are struggling to get lifesaving vaccines to people to keep them from getting sick or dying from preventable diseases,” said Bruce Y Lee, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In low- and middle-income countries, there are many challenges faced by immunisation programmes, which provide childhood vaccines such as hepatitis B, tetanus, measles and rotavirus, and will be utilised in the future as vaccines for dengue, malaria and Zika are developed and brought to market. After entering a country, vaccine vials typically travel by road through two...