2007 News

September 5 , 2007

Commissioners Approve Purchase of Vaccines for Bucks County’s Second Annual Pandemic Flu Drill
Upcoming Event to Offer Free Flu Shots at Multiple Locations

The Board of Bucks County Commissioners is committed to protecting the health of its diverse resident base through administration, preparation and mobilization. To that end, Chairman Charles H. Martin and commissioner colleagues James F. Cawley, Esq., and Sandra A. Miller today approved a $97,755 contract with Sanofi Pasteur to purchase 8,500 individual doses of influenza vaccine.

The vaccines will be administered during the Bucks County Health Department’s second Pandemic Flu Drill, to be conducted October 27 at multiple locations. The time and addresses of the event, which inoculated 3,325 individuals last November at three separate sites – including the first-ever drive through venue, in Bristol Twp. – will be announced soon. The initial Pandemic Flu Drill allowed Health Department officials and scores of medical and non-medical volunteers to administer more than 550 shots per hour over a six-hour period. The drill also tested the county’s emergency coordination and distribution capabilities in the event of a real pandemic.

“We are looking forward to continuing this important preparatory drill, which was extremely well-received by residents last year,” Chairman Martin noted, adding that more than 1,200 of last November’s participants were senior citizens.

Commissioner Cawley, who visited the Bristol Twp. drive-thru site during last November’s exercise, pointed out that the upcoming Pandemic Flu Drill will give Health Department and Emergency Services officials the opportunity to fine tune the lessons of their 2006 effort.

Commissioner Miller, who monitored last year’s drill from a command post at the county Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Ivyland, said the commissioners are confident that the event will surpass last year’s inoculation total.