The United Parcel Service and CVS Pharmacy will start using drones next month for the delivery of medicines to residents of a retirement community in Florida in an initiative to maintain the social distancing measures. UPS announced this on Monday.

Beginning in early May, about 135,000 The Village residents can already receive their medicines through the M2 drone system of Matternet, in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration. Relatively, the drones will function by dropping off prescriptions to areas near the community. 

Also, according to UPS, a truck will then complete the delivery. The company added it might expand its service by including deliveries from two other local CVS pharmacies.

UPS chief strategy and transformation officer, Scot Price said in a press release, that their "new drone delivery service would help CVS provide" efficient and safe deliveries of medicines to retirement communities.

UPS, the company official said, is committed to portraying its role in combatting COVID-19, and this is yet another way of supporting individuals, as well as the healthcare customers with innovative solutions. 


Support for the Vulnerable Community

This new measure, according to UPS, is to help assist a vulnerable community in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis. The state of Florida issued earlier this month, a stay-at-home order. According to Gov. Ron DeSantis, senior citizens need to take special care to stay home. 

As of this writing, there are approximately 31,520 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Florida, with roughly 1,073 deaths. In 2019, UPS and CVS were also in partnership as they explored the drone delivery. 

UPS Flight Forward, together with its partner, Matternet, was the first delivery service to acquire full certification from the Federal Aviation Administration "to operate a drone airline."


The Start of Partnership

In October last year, UPS announced its plan to partner with CVS Health to come up with a prescription medicine delivery service through the use of UPS drones. This was the same month, UPS Flight Forward and Matternet received their full certification from the FAA to function as a drone airline.

Price, during the company's announcement of the plan, said, the UPS Flight Forward is swiftly developing a strong customer base and a link of technology alliances to galvanize UPS's leadership in delivery through the drone.

Previously, Price explained, the idea was limited just to ground transportation technology, and now, "we're thinking in three dimensions." 

Meanwhile, CVS Pharmacy president Kevin Hourican said they were always looking to enhance the convenience of the customers through speedier, cost-effective, and more efficient models of delivery. Based on the estimate of Ship Matrix, a logistics data company, 13.3 billion parcels are being delivered yearly in the US. 

From this figure, 72 percent were below five pounds, and over 50 percent can be accommodated by a mailbox, making them compatible with the present restrictions for size and weight for most of the commercial drones, Ship Matrix President, Satish Jindel, said. 


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