RALEIGH NC (NC DOT) – Last week, NCDOT and its partners, Atrium Health Wake Forest and UPS Flight Forward, achieved another major milestone in the development of drone technology by completing the first ever drone delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.
The short flight took the drone from one portion of the hospital to another.
“The launch of this delivery service is going to help bring vaccine access to more North Carolinians,” said state Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette. “We’re entering a new era, where distance and isolation will soon no longer be barriers to receive potential life saving healthcare.”
As part of NCDOT’s participation in the Federal Aviation Administration’s BEYOND program, this operation joins a long list of important drone firsts in North Carolina, including the first for-profit regular drone delivery airlines and the first public air taxi demonstration in North America.
For more information about NCDOT’s drone programs or its Aviation Division, visit ncdot.gov/aviation.