Mercer County agencies stage drill to prepare for mass inoculation for flu

HERMITAGE— The Mercer County Department of Public Safety, the Mercer Area Agency on Aging and the Community Health Partnership of Mercer County combined to distribute seasonal-flu and pneumonia vaccines in a “point-of-dispensing” drill Sunday at Hickory High School.

The drill allows officials to prepare for mass distribution of vaccines.

“There would be large lines. It would be more of an emergency nature,” said Frank Jannetti, director of Public Safety, about a potential outbreak.

“This is a good test,” he said.

The county department of Public Safety is charged with distributing vaccines in a public emergency, such as the potential threat of an H1N1 outbreak, Jannetti said.

Sunday was a practice run for the department and about 70 volunteers. The clinic was open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to distribute 800 seasonal flu vaccines and 200 pneumonia vaccines, which the Agency on Aging and Community Health Partnership obtained through a grant.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.