The University of Colorado at Boulder will conduct an emergency exercise June 18-20 to test the university's preparedness to respond in the event of a need for mass immunization throughout Boulder County.
In cooperation with emergency responders from the Boulder County Health Department and the Boulder Office of Emergency Management, CU-Boulder Emergency Management Coordinator Tom Carney will lead the campus portion of the exercise beginning the afternoon of June 18.
According to the scenario created for the exercise by Carney, with input from city and county representatives, the university will be responding along with the city and county to a simulated smallpox outbreak in the area.
CU-Boulder's Housing Department and Wardenburg Health Center will be key players in the mass immunization scenario, Carney said.
"We will be simulating the immunization of 500 people an hour, including all campus residents and critical staff," he said.
On Friday, June 20, representatives of both departments will do a run-through of the mass immunization program at the Coors Events/Conference Center, said Carney. The two and one-half day exercise will test the viability of the campus's mass immunization plan, the campus Emergency Operations Center and the Boulder County Public Health Mass Immunization plan.
For more information on the exercise, contact Tom Carney at (303) 492-5162 or Thomas.Carney@Colorado.EDU.