Logistics run nonstop to dispatch needed drugs

Couriers arrange packages in Chaoyang district of Beijing on Dec 18, 2022. (Photo by Zhang Wei/chinadaily.com.cn)

As Beijing wrestles with COVID-19, pharmaceutical logistics companies are working to ensure epidemic-related drugs are processed and delivered to people as soon as possible.

China Resources Pharmaceutical Commercial Beijing's logistics center is the only pharmaceutical logistics center in central Beijing, providing drugs to all of the capital's major hospitals, community hospitals and drugstores.

Huang Dan, deputy general manager of the center, said workers have put in extra hours to make sure drugs are processed and delivered 24 hours a day.

The company has streamlined its logistics services to make sure drugs can be processed in less than four hours.

She and many of her colleagues have only slept a few hours each night since early December as half of the employees are not able to work as they have been infected with the disease, she said, adding that the company has relocated more than 50 employees from Shandong and Hebei to Beijing.

From Dec 1 to Dec 18, the center has processed and delivered 11.7 million COVID-19-related drugs to almost 300 major hospitals, more than 2,200 community hospitals and more than 3,300 drugstores in Beijing, she said.

While the center only processed 30,000 to 50,000 drugs per day before, it processed 4 million units on Monday, setting a new record, Huang said.

Zhang Lei, a field operator at China Resources Pharmaceutical Commercial, has assumed a new responsibility since early December, delivering drugs to hospitals and drugstores.

Having worked at the company for more than 20 years, he is very proud of his job and believes they are saving people's lives.

"As long as the hospitals and drugstores make orders, we make sure the drugs are delivered to them as soon as possible, no matter what time it is," he said.

"Our colleagues have made lots of sacrifices, and many stick to their posts even though their families have contracted the disease."

His mother and his two children tested positive for the virus, and despite this, he said he has tried his best to make sure he is on duty whenever he is called upon while also taking care of his family.

Riding the streets, Zhang said traffic in Beijing is getting busier and he is pleased to see the city recovering slowly from the epidemic.

"When I see more residents receive their drugs and recover from the disease, I am satisfied," he said. "Beijing is a city full of vitality, and soon it will return to its hustle and bustle and all the bad things will pass as long as people are united."

Li Yu, who works at a community medical service center in Beijing's Fengtai district, said things are getting better there.

At its peak, the center received around 800 people every day, seeking drugs and medical treatment related to the epidemic and their underlying conditions, but the number has reduced to around 500 in the past few days, he said.

The center has made sure drugs are delivered to patients' homes within 24 hours, he added.