Vaccination against the new coronavir will be led by a general who has led the NATO mission in Iraq, as well as Canadian troops in Afghanistan and Bosnia, said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudo.
The first doses of the vaccine, which are still in clinical trials, in Canada are expected early next year.
Health officials said this week that three million Canadians, or 8% of the country’s population, will receive the vaccine in the first three months of the year.
“If all goes well, most Canadians will be vaccinated by next September,” Trudo said.
The logistics and distribution of vaccines will be coordinated by Major General Denny Fortin, Chief of Staff for the Joint Operations Command of Canada.
Vaccines will be distributed by the Canadian Public Health Agency and the Army will assist with planning.
The government has signed contracts with several pharmaceutical companies for more than 400 million doses of vaccines for the country’s 38 million people.
There are currently 60,000 active cases of Covid-19 in Canada.
In total, more than 350,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus in the country, and almost 12,000 have died.
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