u.p.s. world port facility in kentucky. have to imagine that it is a lot of stuff going on there right now, a lot of stress for sure >> absolutely right. definitely stressful and a lot of work going on here. an interesting number, 6,000 packages per minute can be sorted here at this facility behind me. this is the u.p.s. world port hub. and they need that speed as ecommerce just surges during this holiday season. so in the month of november, it actually spiked 27% higher year over year with u.p.s. handling the most volume, 450 million packages u.p.s. and fedex are also hanging vaccine deliveries both the super put shave put sun those with high volumes. and kate gut man says it was about maximizing revenues and trying to ensure on "time" deliv delivery >> we had to really collaborate on the plans by bay, by origin, and what we could pull into the network. and there is a higher value when you run a system that is fully utilized but you also want to ensure that you don't overutilize that network or your service levels will dec

u.p.s. world port behind us, getting sorted and loaded on planes and soon, on its way to americans in need., delivering hope. the best weapon in the fight against the pandemic touchdown in louisville around noon on board this u.p.s. boeing 757. captain houston mills flew the first batch of pfizer vaccine. >> have you flown cargo this important? >> i have never had the honor of being a part of something this had big. every package is a person, we say, in the instance, it's a life-saving vaccine that can make a difference in someone's life. >> the massive delivery effort kicking off today will be divided between u.p.s. and fedex, each handling half of the u.s. tonight, u.p.s. is moving half of the 2.9 million doses. the approximately 75 specially designed cold boxes with gps and temperature tracking started the day at pfizer's michigan plant, rolling out with a escort of u.s. marshals. upon landing in kentucky, they were unloaded for sorting and will fly out tonight, bound for more than 30 cities by morning. allowing vaccinations to start as soon as monday. >> the vaccines, they will get the

u.p.s. world port in louisville, kentucky frank? morgan 6,000 packages per minute just like these sorted and sent back out for delivery here at the u.p.s. world port, the largest hub in the united states and u.p.s. and the other carriers, they need that kind of speed add e mers surges this holiday season in november the volume spiked 27% higher year of year. u.p.s. handling the most packages, 450 million. and of course all the carriers, fedex and u.p.s., are handling vaccines along with christmas presents and they put surcharges on high volume and how much they can ship and there's about maximizing revenues and trying to ensure on time delivery. >> we had to work with our customers and really collaborated on the plans by day, by origin and what we could pull into the network. and there's a higher value when you run a system that is fully yu utilized but not overutilize that network or the service levels will decrease and then everyone is disappointed. >> reporter: u.p.s. ceo said in previous quarters the company wouldn't take all the

u.p.s. world port. victor, good morning to you. >> reporter: dan, good morning. this is the moment of truth we have been waiting for. that's how the president of u.p.s. health care put it. in just a matter of hours, one of these planes here behind me will be taking off for michigan empty, and when it returns, it will be loaded with the first shipments of the covid-19 vaccine. that is just the beginning of the operation. once that vaccine is back here on the ground, the shipments will be unloaded and placed on a very long conveyor belt for sorting, 155 miles of conveyer belts at this facility. that might be the most amount of time the vaccine will spend on the ground because vaccine packages will immediately go out this afternoon for delivery on monday. months of preparation and coordination with u.p.s. and their rival, turned teammate here, fedex and pfizer for "operation warp speed." this is an air and ground game with destinations determined by "operation warp speed." the goal, safe delivery of this precious cargo. abc news can report that u.s. marshals are work

u.p.s.'s world port sorting facility and were loaded on to overnight flights. >> we're launching a very complexionwide distribution program. there are going to be hitches and hiccups as we go. >> reporter: the boxes are equipped with g.p.s. and temperature tracking. the entire process is bering monitored in real time from u.p.s.'s covid commander center. >> as soon as that box arrives in this facility or any of our facilities around the country, we can find it within ten feet. >> reporter: in dallas, delivery was personal for driver paul pieroni. just three weeks ago he lost a relative to covid. >> it impacts all of us. so let's let the healing begin. >> reporter: u.p.s. and fed ex tell us they made their first day of vaccine deliveries on or ahead of schedule and are already filling up airplanes like this one with tomorrow's inccine deliveries. but one of the challenges will be managing expectations. dalgreen's canceled a planned vaccination event in michigan today because their batch of vaccine hadn't shipped yet. norah. >> o'donnell: all right, kris van cleave, thank you. the u.s. has set re

u.p.s. world port in louisville, captain mike meyer, a friend of mine since childhood, is in the cockpit, a former air force fighter pilot, he's now on one of the most high-profile missions of his career. >> hopefully, we're going to save some lives getting the vaccine out there. all hands on deck at the u.p.s. airlines to get the job done, and we're excited to be a part of it. >> reporter: for driver todd elbie, who last his father to covid last month delivering these vaccines, it's deeply personal. >> after many years at u.p.s., this has been my most important load that i've hauled. and to bring this back, i feel dad was in the truck with me today. >> reporter: also today, vice president elect biden will receive the vaccine later today, along with dr. jill biden, and one other note here, craig. that is because you need a follow-up vaccination, the experts say don't mix the vaccinations. in other words if your first dose is pfizer, your follow-up must be pfizer. you can't mix pfizer and moderna. they are both independent vaccines. back to you. >> an important note, indeed. tom costello, th

u.p.s.' world port, the vaccine is sorted and loaded on planes bound for more than 30 cities with deliveriestarting around 8:30 this morning. the entire logistics effort is tracked in realtime inside the company's covid command center. >> are these the most important shipments you guys have ever moved? >> absolutely. in my opinion, yes. >> reporter: wes wheeler is the president of u.p.s. health care. t. gets on the plane first, off the plane first. the drivers and pilots both know that they are carrying vaccines. >> reporter: to speed deliveries, the country has been divided between u.p.s. and fedex with vaccines going to all 50 states and u.s. territories as far as guam. fedex is also delivering its first batch of vaccine today. >> this is going to be one of the most challenging public health distribution efforts we've seen. it's going to be hard to imagine this going off without a hitch. there likely are unanticipated issues that will arise when shipping that many vaccine doses all around the country. >> reporter: fedex tells us it has already made its first vaccine delivery on the east co

u.p.s. world port where every shipment has to go through before it gets sent out all over the country. we're walking on to a boeing 737. these are slightly larger than shipment in yesterday and this is where the specially crafted boxes are specially offloaded not far from where i am standing and we know that the boxes, hoda, they are specially crafted to keep the vaccines at that specially negative temperature fahrenheit so they will be safe in the shipping process. a couple of the boxes were dropped here in louisville, kentucky, by u.p.s. truck to the hospital and they can expect a second wave tonight and a third wave tomorrow, and this is the beginning of the long-standing process to try to combat this pandemic, hoda, and we know that right now, there are 75 of the 757s in the fleet, and 747s are ready to carry them at a moment's notice, and u.p.s. is saying that each one of the boxes contains that bluetooth device that can monitor the temperature, the location, and they can track this every single step of the way. we did speak to a high school senior who works at u.p.s. yesterday he

u.p.s.'s world port air operations in louisville. what are these shipping giants facing now? >> shep, this is a global and ongoing logistical challenge for carriers and bring us all back to a new sense of normal. this effort will involve planes like the 747 i'm standing in, as well as trucks, both of them moving containers, like the one you see behind me, filled with vaccines. >> a dose of hope. hospitals across the nation receive the first shipment to pfizer's covid-19 vaccine for front line health care workers. u.p.s. and fedex delivered the potentially life-saving medicine within 24 hours, using their networks of trucks, planes and employees. >> they're given priority in the network. as soon as they enter the building, everybody knows it's a vaccine. the pilots know they're carrying a vaccine and so do the drivers. >> reporter: tracking devices are attached to each box, teams using blue tooth and gps monitor their temperature as they leave to sites all around the country. >> i refer to these priority agents as guardian angels. using this technology and have eyes on every s

this is louisville, kentucky, the way you know it's louisville is because that's louisville world port, that is u.p.st, memphis is a fedex port. so that truck, that u.p.s. truck in front of you is carrying the first shipments of the moderna vaccine. it will be distributed from louisville. it's going out to, i think, thousands of sites, actually, not just hundreds. remember these are smaller boxes, 100 doses apiece as opposed to the much larger pfizer doses. we will stay on top of that. those vehicles that look like airport shuttle buses are mckesson vehicles that are shipping the drugs as well. so that's what we're keeping an eye on. all right. what do businesses need to do to make it through this next surge of covid while they wait for congress to finalize a new relief deal, while they wait for people to get vaccinated? i asked you my viewers to send in tips and advice on how you help your local businesses. how they themselves might be helping their favorite spot. i'm going to be speaking with my next guest about this, kim wisel is an editor at large at inc., inc. magazine small business expert. kim

world port in louisville. they can go anywhere on the planet. particularly in what we're standing in. this is a boeing 747. one of the larger plans in the u.p.s. fleet. the shipping containers behind y me, the boxes in containers when they arrive and make the touchdown as we witnessed yesterday in the boeing 757. the first flight arriving here. once they arrive at this location, they're take ton a special hangar and sorted out at that location, and that's when they start this massive distribution process. placed onto other planes. we know that yesterday those planes flew overnight to more than 50 locations. made their first delivery today. one of the presidents of u.p.s. telling me the very first shipment from u.p.s. went to a hospital in winston salem, wake forest baptist health hospital. he says it was flawless. i'm holding one of the many tools they're using to make sure that these doses of vaccines are not compromised at any moment from point a to point b. this is one of those blue tooth devices placed in every one of the boxes. it can monitor not only the location, hallie, but also the temperature, because we know the vaccines have to sta

u.p.s. world port logistics hub at muhammad ali international airport in louisville. in the days and weeks ahead, the hard work o kentuckns at u.p.s.'s n health care command center in louisville will play a critical rolen finishing this fight. already, they have held direct tens ofhousands of doses to kentucky hospitals where they are beginning -- where they are being admintered to the commonwealth's health care workers and most at-risk residents. there is a rk success story being written today along the ccine supply chain from missouri to massachusetts t michigan to kentucky to front lines all across our country. and it's i am bethlehemttic of an approach that has been helping our country -- and it's emblematic of an approach tha has been helping ourountry since the beginning of the crisis. to the bravery of the doctors, nurses, and other health care workers who spent sleepless nights tending to victims of the virus, to the ienuity of entrepreneurs who spun out masks and sanitizer o kept servi their customers safely, to t patients of -- to the patience of parents and