Hawaii Island Company Steps Up to Help Vaccine Effort

After exhausting all other options to deliver dry ice in Kona for vaccine storage, Kailani Tours stepped up in a pinch to make the sensitive delivery. Aerosafe Global, a company specialized in cold-chain shipping centered in from Rochester, NY, reached out to Kailani Tours in a search of an available delivery driver to that could provide immediate transport of dry ice sitting at AirGas in Kona to CVS. “I told him that we are a tour operator and were headed out on tour. I gave him some names of who to call but after calling nearly a dozen taxi and shuttle services, he circled back to me. No one was available during Spring Break.” ~ Chris Paterson, owner of Kailani Tours Certain COVID-19 vaccines carry labels stating that the vaccine must be stored for extended periods of time in an ultra-cold freezer at temperatures between -80ºC and -60ºC (-112ºF to ‑76ºF), far below the standard temperatures of a pharmacy refrigerator. Dry ice has been used for transport and storage of certain COVID-19 vaccines nationwide, and is relied upon even more in rural areas without ultra-cold freezers. Accidents and storage errors have forced the hurried rollout of the vaccine at some facilities, and has lead to doses becoming compromised. That’s how a local Hawaii Island tour company found themselves helping in the island's vaccination effort. “It felt good to do it.“