Through Cities Readiness Initiative planning, the federal government plans to provide direct assistance to cities and counties to help achieve optimal preparedness for receipt and dispensing of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). The SNS, formerly known as the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile, is a federally established program to ensure the availability and rapid deployment of lifesaving vaccines, antibiotics, antidotes and medical supplies and equipment to counter the effects of nerve agents, biological pathogens and chemical agents.

In the wake of a catastrophic event, local communities must be prepared to provide medicines or vaccinations to 100% of its population. In an actual emergency, initially citizens would be asked to “shelter-in-place” and would then be directed by mass media metroplex-wide broadcast to go to a dispensing site at an appropriate time to receive these lifesaving medications.

Mass distribution of needed medications is the only means to combat loss of life in a bioterrorism or pandemic event. Community Emergency Medication Clinics or Point of Distribution Sites (PODS) are a mechanism for distribution of medicine and medical supplies to healthy people in the area of risk during a large-scale public health emergency. Medicines and supplies will be dispensed at a centralized location, or locations, in each county.

All healthy adults, children and seniors, will be asked to go to a nearby Clinic Site to get medicines that will keep them from getting sick. By doing so, hospitals and first responders can continue treating existing patients, as well as anyone who gets sick from the emergency.

As few as 100 infected persons could overwhelm the healthcare system of the entire metroplex. Clinics are but one of many mechanisms that could be used to ensure medicine dispersal in an emergency. Other plans are in development.