Operation VECTOR: From Zero to more than 66M Vaccine Doses to fight COVID-19 in Canada

August 12, 2021 - Defence Stories
By: Captain Felix Odartey-Wellington and Captain Nadine Abou Rjeily, Op VECTOR Communications Team

Caption

Executive Liaison Officer Capt Jonathan Hillman participates in a virtual meeting from the National Operations Centre, PHAC headquarters, Ottawa on July 29, 2021. Photo by Capt Felix Odartey-Wellington, Op VECTOR Communications Team

OTTAWA, ON. In late 2020, when the COVID-19 global pandemic triggered an urgent need for vaccines to be delivered and distributed throughout the nation, Canada called, and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) answered with Operation VECTOR.

“Operation VECTOR is the greatest mobilization effort Canada has seen since the Second World War. This has become the longest domestic military deployment in the history of Canada,” says Brigadier-General Krista Brodie. She has been seconded to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) as Vice President Logistics and Operations to lead the multidisciplinary team supporting Canada’s vaccine rollout.

The CAF team includes logistics experts, operational planners, physicians, pharmacists, health care administrators, engineers, information technology and systems experts, and communications advisors drawn from the reserve and regular forces as well as the public service. The CAF members are not uniformed, blending in with their civilian counterparts.

Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Read, lead logistics planner when the mission commenced in November 2020, explains: “The team started with the ultimate goal of delivering vaccines to every Province, Territory and government department with vaccination responsibilities.” This made it possible to move from zero vaccine doses in late November 2020 to more than 66m doses in July 2021, making Canada a world leader in vaccine distribution.

 The centerpiece of this mission is cold supply chain management because its inventory consists of vaccines with delicate temperature requirements. “The challenge is similar to the CAF supply chain, but at temperatures as cold as -80^oC.  “Ensuring Canada’s cold chain has the capacity to deliver as many vaccines as could be manufactured without delay is paramount. This requires working with the Canada Border Services Agency, Health Canada, physical and cyber and security departments, and Public Services and Procurement Canada,” says LCol Read.

The mission’s engine room is the National Operations Centre (NOC) located at the PHAC headquarters in Ottawa. Captain Jonathan Hillman is the Executive Liaison Officer at the NOC, surrounded by a bank of flat screen monitors tracking the cold supply chain in real time.

“Our ultimate goal is to set the favorable conditions for Provinces and Territories to optimize their immunization plans and reduce wastage,” he explains. His job, therefore, is to maintain constant contact with Federal, Provincial and Territorial stakeholders.

There have been multiple vaccine supply disruptions due to global demand and fluctuating production capabilities. “My biggest challenge has been dealing with disruptions in the vaccine supply chain. Each last minute change or surprise requires close cooperation with the dedicated people providing front line workers with vaccines for Canadians. There have been many long days and late night phone calls but we have been very motivated to help protect the health of Canadians,” Captain Hillman adds.  

The April to July 2021 timeframe witnessed the “Big Lift,” says Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Hillier who joined the mission in February 2021 as Chief Planner. “This saw Canada pivot from months of limited supply to vaccine abundance and increased national administration capacity, requiring even more coordination with stakeholders.”

With a mission like this, reliable connectivity is critical and that is where information technology and systems experts like Sergeant June Yardley come in. A signaller by trade, she became the go-to person for maintaining the mission’s IT system.

“The obvious achievements I saw were the vaccine delivery milestones, 10 million, 20 million, 30 million... It was great to see everyone working toward these big numbers, it was a good motivator,” she recalls.

Where does BGen Brodie see the operation culminating? “Our intent is to consolidate past the objective. We aim to ensure that there are sufficient doses for every eligible person in Canada to be fully vaccinated, and that there is a robust vaccine supply chain in place and an enduring operational capacity to meet future needs.”