The Tioga County Public Health Department invited members of the public and media to participate in a public health emergency training exercise. Tioga County is required to
conduct a Point of Dispensing (POD) drill to test how effectively the county can vaccinate in the event of a communicable disease outbreak. The exercise will take place on Thursday April 26, 2018
from 11 AM to 1PM at the Valley United Presbyterian Church in Waverly.
The purpose of this exercise is to test the ability of the County to provide mass distribution of medications to the public in a very short period of time. In the drill scenario, Tioga County
residents are believed to be exposed to Hepatitis A if they consumed produce purchased between April 12 and April 23 from the county’s largest grocery store.
The County asked the community to assist in the drill by pre-registering and walking through the simulated clinic to receive a fake Hepatitis A vaccination.
The took place on at the Valley Presbyterian Church on Park Avenue in Waverly.
What is Hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). It can range from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months. Although rare, HAV can
cause death in some people. Hepatitis A usually spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks contaminated by small, undetected amounts of stool
from an infected person.
Emily Warfle from the Tioga County Department of Public Health spoke to WEBO about the event:
