One industry is anticipating an incredible surge in business due to the late stage of the coronavirus pandemic.
The dry ice industry is preparing for a rapid increase in demand for the material due to the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines due to the way they must be stored.
To stay viable during transportation, the Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored in an environment with an extremely low temperature of -94 degrees, making dry ice a critical piece of the distribution machine.
One Washington-based business in particular is anticipating its work delivering dry ice to hospitals and other medical clinics.
"It's an honor to be a part of it, and we're just taking one step at a time. There's still a lot of unknowns, but my phone has been ringing off the hook. I've been getting a lot of e-mails, a lot more than usual," says Caleb Stone, a manager at Reliant Dry Ice in Lakewood, Washington.
Stone says the business is also anticipating a need to hire more employees to keep up with the demand, but they won't know for sure until the vaccine rollout kicks into high gear.