#HTE

UPS to Begin Drone Delivery of Prescription Meds from CVS in Florida

Delivery company UPS and pharmacy chain CVS are partnering up to deliver medications via drone. With much of the country still under lockdown, this couldn’t come at a better time, but the drone delivery program (run by UPS subsidiary UPS Flight Forward) will initially be small.

Deliveries will take place from a single CVS in Florida to The Villages, a nearby retirement community and the largest in the U.S., with over 135,000 residents. “The first flights will be less than one half mile and be delivered to a location near the retirement community,” says a UPS press release. “Initially, a ground vehicle will complete the delivery to the resident’s door.”

The limited scope of the trial, which starts in May, is presumably to iron out any kinks in the process. But should it prove successful, it’s not difficult to imagine it being scaled up; last September UPSFF was the first company to earn the Federal Aviation Administration’s Part 135 Standard certification, which “permits the company to collect payment for drone deliveries and to fly as many drones supported by as many operators as necessary to meet customer demand,” according to the company.

https://www.core77.com/posts/98076/UPS-to-Begin-Drone-Delivery-of-Prescription-Meds-from-CVS-in-Florida