MA Town Practices Emergency Vaccinations
You expect to hear stories about major medical centers and large cities practicing disaster preparedness. You hope smaller hospitals and local governments are working on their emergency plans, and that no matter where a natural or manmade disaster or pandemic strikes, we will be ready.
Yet I was surprised to hear my small hometown of North Attleboro, MA, had a pandemic flu drill over the weekend. Town officials asked residents looking to get a flu shot to come to the high school for a vaccination clinic.
Organizers hoped to flood the high school with 1,000 Massachusetts residents and see exactly how long it takes to vaccinate hundreds of people. More than 800 people, including my parents, turned out to get their shots.
The exercise turned up a couple minor problems with the plan, such as a bottleneck at the front doors, where paperwork stations set up too closely to the entrance had people waiting outside. These discoveries where what officials were looking for, and will give them insight on how to tweak the pandemic vaccination plan, just in case.
It's good to hear the town is working on emergency preparedness. Have you seen anything similar in your home town? Find more information on emergency preparedness in our Safety Standards column.