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Associate Professor Jeffrey Herrmann (ME/ISR) and seven Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) students assisted with a mass vaccination drill in Montgomery County, Md., in late June.
The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services practiced a emergency procedure for mass vaccination, using a local high school as a staging area. The event was meant to simulate procedures the county might need to use in the event of a virus outbreak, epidemic, or bio-terror attack. The county practiced procedures that have been mostly theoretical until now.
Nearly 500 "patients," played by community volunteers from Montgomery and Prince George's counties, were bused in from staging areas, simulating emergency transportation procedures. Then they registered with health workers and watched an educational video about vaccinations.
The REU students staffed six tables with automatic timestamp devices. Each patient going through the clinic had a form that was stamped six times. Herrmann and the students will use the data to report on the clinic's performance and simulation model. Tyson Cook, the REU working directly for Dr. Herrmann; and GRA Dan Fitzgerald both took additional data. Tyson is creating simulation models of the clinic. Results from the models will be reported this month.
ISR's REU program brings together talented undergraduates from across the country to participate in focused, 10-12 week summer research experiences with individual ISR faculty members. The program is funded by the National Science Foundation.
| Story about the drill in the Montgomery County Gazette |
?July 2004
July 6, 2004
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