title: Protecting the Public from H1N1 through Points of Dispensing (PODs).
abstract: In fall 2009, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) operated 58 points of dispensing (PODs) over 5 weekends to provide influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccination to New Yorkers. Up to 7 sites were opened each day across the 5 boroughs, with almost 50,000 New Yorkers being vaccinated. The policies and protocols used were based on those developed for New York City's POD Plan, the cornerstone of the city's mass prophylaxis planning. Before the H1N1 experience, NYC had not opened more than 5 PODs simultaneously and had only experienced the higher patient volume seen with the H1N1 PODs on 1 prior occasion. Therefore, DOHMH identified factors that contributed to the success of POD operations, as well as areas for improvement to inform future mass prophylaxis planning and response. Though this was a relatively small-scale, preplanned operation, during which a maximum of 7 PODs were operated on a given day, the findings have implications for larger-scale mass prophylaxis planning for emergencies.
authors.affiliation: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rinchiuso-Hasselmann
authors.forename: Ryan L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: McKay
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Starr
authors.forename: Beth Maldin
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Morgenthau
authors.forename: Jane R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Zucker
authors.forename: Marisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raphael
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D040381:Education, Public Health Professional; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control*; D032541:Mass Vaccination / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009519:New York City; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires