Milestone for McKesson Europe: 20 million COVID-19 vaccines safely delivered

Date created30. April 2021 Milestone for McKesson Europe: 20 million COVID-19 vaccines safely delivered

McKesson Europe AG marks World Immunization Week by confirming it has safely delivered 20 million COVID-19 vaccines across Europe.

Leading healthcare company, McKesson Europe, has been selected to distribute COVID vaccines in several European countries. It is also conducting COVID-19 testing and starting to administer vaccinations in some of its community pharmacies. In the United States, McKesson Corporation is the government's centralized distributor for refrigerated and frozen vaccines.

Kevin Kettler, Chairman of the Management Board and President McKesson International, said: 'I'm acutely aware of the role that we play in the supply chain of medicications and never has that been more in focus. McKesson delivers to over 50,000 hospitals and pharmacies across Europe every single day, regardless of global healthcare emergencies, so it was a natural step for European governments and public health bodies to turn to the expertise of pharmaceutical wholesalers like us to help with the vaccine rollout.

'Whether picking, packing or driving, the significance of their work is not lost on the people in our distribution centers. They know that each pack represents a person, a patient. I'm proud that the McKesson Europe team has come together at this time to make sure that 20 million patients can receive their vaccines, it's an incredibly important obligation and one that continues.

'Our community pharmacy teams are now using their experience of 'flu and other vaccination programmes to be involved in administering COVID-19 vaccines. Being located at the heart of local communities means pharmacists are well placed to immunize and test people who are in more rural locations or find travel more difficult. As the management of the pandemic evolves, I expect the involvement of pharmacies to grow. Our teams, as always, are ready.'