UPS now offers prescription drug drone deliveries to Florida retirees

UPS subsidiary UPS Flight Forward has announced more plans to deliver products using its drone fleet, this time for a CVS Pharmacy store located in Florida. Under this deal, UPS says that retirees at the nation's biggest retirement community are able to get their prescriptions delivered using drones, eliminating the need to drive to the store to pick it up. The new option is particularly appealing amid the coronavirus pandemic.READ: UPS will develop a fleet of VTOL drones for unmanned deliveries

UPS Flight Forward has been steadily expanding to offer deliveries via drones over past months. In its most recent update on the matter, UPS said that its subsidiary is now offering prescription medication deliveries to The Villages, Florida, where around 135,000 people live.

The company presents this as an effective way to help people stay socially distant during the coronavirus outbreak. The deliveries are conducted from a CVS Pharmacy in the region and may expand to include another two stores in the area, as well.

Residents will be able to utilize the service starting in May, according to UPS, which says that the initial flights will be limited to less than half a mile from store to drop-off point. When things kick off next month, UPS says that a vehicle on the ground will be used to retrieve the package and drop it off at the resident's doorstep.

This is the latest in UPS's drone delivery efforts following its FAA authorization to operate a drone air carrier — that was granted in late 2019. The company has, among other things, worked with the flagship WakeMed campus and hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, to deliver small, vital items using drones.