Preparedness exercise aims to protect residents in crisis
A simulated virus outbreak swept through Clay County last week, but instead of panic, it sparked planning. Local agencies came together to test how they would respond if the threat had been real and every second counted.Held at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, the recent full-scale emergency preparedness drill brought together dozens of public health staff, emergency managers, law enforcement and volunteers in a collaborative test of Clay County’s mass vaccination response plan. The scenario was modeled on a large-scale public health crisis that would require rapid distribution of medical countermeasures from the Strategic National Stockpile.“We were lucky to get a lot of great volunteers,” said Clay County Public Health Center (CCPHC) Public Information Officer Kelsey Neth. “They really helped bring this scenario to life.”The exercise simulated a mass vaccination event from start to finish. Each volunteer patient was given a card conta...