NORTH TONAWANDA, NY - The Niagara County Department of Health is looking for 800 volunteers to participate in an emergency drill Thursday at the Gratwick Hose Fire Company.
From 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Thursday April 26, the drill will test the dispensing of vaccinations in a Hepatitis A scenario, with participants going through the "point of dispensing" (POD) and "simulated vaccinations," to assess the County's capability in public health emergency preparedness.
People of all ages are encouraged to participate, and the DOH says you will only be needed for 10 to 15 minutes within the two hour window. You can simply show up, or pre-register for a specific time slot here.
Director of Public Health Planning and Emergency Preparedness, Elise Pignatora said, “Simulating vaccination and timing how long it takes to go through the POD is important as we are testing our ability to quickly, efficiently and accurately dispense medication or vaccination to the entire population within 48 hours."
Homeland Security and Exercise Evaluation trained staff will be there to watch and evaluate the drill, and a subsequent report will be issued to measure Niagara County's "public health emergency preparedness levels."
