Guest Post: Vaccine Logistics

Today’s Guest Post comes from Dr. Jeff Heyl, at Lincoln University in Christchurch, NZ. He is Associate Academic Dean and Director of the Centre for Lean Education and Research.

Living on islands at the bottom of the world gives one an interesting perspective. If we don’t make it in New Zealand, getting it here can be challenging. So the issue of the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, once one is approved and available, is an important question. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has estimated it will take 8,000 Boeing 747 cargo planes to distribute just single doses to our planet’s 7.8 billion people.

There are several important issues involved in planning the logistics for this massive operation. Overflight and landing approvals will need to be fast-tracked, traffic patterns may need to be altered, temperature-control will be necessary during all stages of the transport, and safety, security, and quarantine requirements will need to be considered.

Ground transportation will be vital at multiple points in the logistics process, but there liability and capacity of these systems varies considerably around the world. Local manufacturing will also help reduce some of the demand for air transportation. But this capability is even more variable than land transportation.

But air transportation may be the biggest hurdle. Due to the diminished cargo capacity that has resulted from the pandemic, networks have been downsized, skilled employees have been terminated, and planes put into long-term storage, frequently in remote locations. Bringing these back online in a timely manner will be critical to effectively distributing any vaccine around the world, no matter where it is ultimately developed. This may well be the biggest and most important logistics challenge ever. The IATA, UNICEF, and the WHO are calling on governments and providers to start planning now for how these problems will be addressed.