Merck Begins Testing Drones For Vaccine Distribution

Drones have been widely tested for deliveries, so it’s not a stretch to imagine they could be used to deliver medicine to hard to reach populations, which is exactly what Merck has started testing.

The most interesting part of this story, though, isn’t drone delivery - but rather that the arrival (eventually) of a Covid-19 vaccine will create urgency for governments and aviation authorities to approve drone deliveries. Regulatory groups are usually reluctant to imagine the positive uses and aim to prevent the worst. When millions of people need a vaccine, it could offer a shortcut to normalizing (and legalizing) drone deliveries on a mass scale. It’s no wonder industry analysts expect an explosion in drone-enabled commerce and delivery.