Dispensing Medical Countermeasures for Public Health Emergencies

2008 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Medical Countermeasures

Throughput Times for Adults and Children During Two Drive-Through Influenza Vaccination Clinics

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura L. Banks ◽  
Cameron Crandall ◽  
Luke Esquibel
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Optimum Number ◽  
Throughput Time ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Influenza Vaccinations ◽  
Medical Countermeasures

AbstractObjectivesSuccessful planning for public health emergencies requires knowledge of effective methods for mass distribution of medication and supplies to the public. We measured the time required for the key components of 2 drive-through vaccination clinics and summarized the results as they applied to providing medical countermeasures to large populations of children and adults. We hypothesized that vaccinating children in addition to adults would affect throughput time.MethodsUsing 2 separate drive-through vaccination clinics, we measured elapsed time for vehicle flow and vaccination procedures. We calculated the median length of stay and the time to administer vaccinations based on the number of individual vaccinations given per vehicle, and compared the vehicles in which children (aged 9-18 years) were vaccinated to those in which only adults were vaccinated.ResultsA total of 2174 vaccinations and 1275 vehicles were timed during the 2 clinics. The number of vaccinations and vehicles per hour varied during the course of the day; the maximums were 200 and 361 per hour, respectively. The median throughput time was 5 minutes, and the median vaccination time was 48 seconds. Flow over time varied by the hour, and the optimum number of vaccinations per vehicle to maximize efficiency was between 3 and 4. Our findings showed that the presence of children raised the total number of vaccinations given per vehicle and, therefore, the total vaccination processing time per vehicle. However, the median individual procedure time in the vehicles with children was not significantly increased, indicating no need to calculate increased times for processing children 9 years of age or older during emergency planning.ConclusionsDrive-through clinics can provide a large number of seasonal influenza vaccinations in a relatively efficient manner; provide needed experience for students and practitioners in techniques for mass administration of medical countermeasures; and assist public health and emergency management personnel with disaster planning. Including children older than 9 years does not reduce efficiency. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2013;0:1–7)

Walking distance for vulnerable populations to public health emergency response points of dispensing in New York City

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 519-529
Author(s):  
Kate Whittemore, MPH ◽  
Mustafa Ali, MPH ◽  
Andrew Schroeder, MPA, MA ◽  
Neil M. Vora, MD ◽  
David Starr, MIA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
New York ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Walking Distance ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Gwr Model ◽  
Medical Countermeasures

During certain public health emergencies, points of dispensing (PODs) may be used to rapidly distribute medical countermeasures such as antibiotics to the general public to prevent disease. Jurisdictions across the country have identified sites for PODs in preparation for such an emergency; in New York City (NYC), the sites are identified based largely on population density. Vulnerable populations, defined for this analysis as persons with income below the federal poverty level, persons with less than a high school diploma, foreign-born persons, persons of color, persons aged ≥65 years, physically disabled persons, and unemployed persons, often experience a wide range of health inequities. In NYC, these populations are often concentrated in certain geographic areas and rely heavily on public transportation. Because public transportation will almost certainly be affected during large-scale public health emergencies that would require the rapid mass dispensing of medical countermeasures, we evaluated walking distances to PODs. We used an ordinary least squares (OLS) model and a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to determine if certain characteristics that increase health inequities in the population are associated with longer distances to the nearest POD relative to the general NYC population. Our OLS model identified shorter walking distances to PODs in neighborhoods with a higher percentage of persons with income below the federal poverty level, higher percentage of foreign-born persons, or higher percentage of persons of color, and identified longer walking distances to PODs in neighborhoods with a higher percentage of persons with less than a high school diploma. Our GWR model confirmed the findings from the OLS model and further illustrated these patterns by certain neighborhoods. Our analysis shows that currently identified locations for PODs in NYC are generally serving vulnerable populations equitably—particularly those defined by race or income status—at least in terms of walking distance.

Federal Legal Preparedness Tools for Facilitating Medical Countermeasure Use during Public Health Emergencies

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. 22-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Courtney ◽  
Susan Sherman ◽  
Matthew Penn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Federal State ◽  
The Public ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Temporary Assistance ◽  
Medical Countermeasures

Law can greatly facilitate responses to public health emergencies, including naturally-occurring infectious disease outbreaks and intentional or accidental exposures to chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) agents. At the federal level, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as the lead for federal public health and medical responses to public health emergencies and incidents, has a range of authorities to support federal, state, tribal, local, and territorial responses. For example, under the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, the Secretary may provide temporary assistance to States to meet health emergency needs or deploy medicine and supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile. The Secretary also may determine that a disease or disorder presents a public health emergency, which may be the first step in triggering other critical legal authorities for response.Since the 2001 anthrax attacks, one focus of public health preparedness has been on developing, distributing, and rapidly dispensing medical countermeasures (MCMs) for CBRN emergencies and pandemics.

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