United Airlines transporting thousands of COVID-19 vaccines through Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport

HOUSTON - Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is now at the center in the fight to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

FedEx, UPS, and even passenger airlines are shipping Coronavirus vaccines through Houston airports.

"We want to make sure we do our part as an airline, to make sure every vaccine that goes on our aircraft is successful and safe," said Temi Jimoh, a cargo manager at IAH for United Airlines.

SIGN UP FOR FOX 26 HOUSTON EMAIL ALERTS

On Thursday, United Airlines gave us access to their aircraft and cargo facilities. According to a spokesperson from United, their larger planes can transport more than one million Coronavirus vaccine doses.

"The easiest way to say it is, every aircraft in our fleet is capable of carrying vaccines and we have been carrying them on a daily basis," said Chris Busch, managing director for Cargo Americas. "We’re all trying to do our part. For us, COVID vaccines have a high priority."

Moderna and Pfizer Coronavirus shots both require storage below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Airlines use refrigerated shipping containers to monitor vaccine temperatures during flights. In addition, United has giant freezers inside their cargo center at IAH to store shots between flights.

FOR THE LATEST NEWS UPDATES, DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 NEWS APP

We asked Busch how United Airlines monitors vaccines to ensure they don’t expire or exceed necessary temperatures.

"Our network operating center," said Busch. "They can see when vaccines are on flights. If there is any type of delay, or impact to a flight, they know which ones have vaccines to make sure those flights do takeoff."

Airlines are accustomed to shipping medical supplies that require refrigeration. According to a United Airlines spokesperson, it’s something they’ve been doing for years. However, the massive demand currently surrounding these shots nationwide is new.