By Jeremy Z. Young

Knox County Health Officials conducted a new style of disaster preparedness drill June 30. Volunteers drove through the Karns High School parking lot to receive antibiotics related to a mock anthrax outbreak.

While only about 300 cars were able to drive through the “Point of Dispensing” drill in the two-hour time allotment, officials were pleased with the drill overall. Spokesperson Ranee Randby said that future clinics could include larger signage and clearer registration forms. The Health Department had  an initial goal of serving 500 cars (roughly 1,500 people) in the time period.

The backdrop for the drill was an anthrax outbreak that health officials determined to have started at a concert at the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum. People had been showing up at local emergency rooms with respiratory illness, two of those people have died.

“As part of Homeland Security, Knox County Health Department is responsible for being ready and able to dispense these essentials quickly to large numbers of people if such an emergency occurs,” KCHD Director Mark Jones said.

Drivers/volunteers who may have been exposed to the organism that causes anthrax were given different scenarios to role-play. Under different scenarios, volunteers gave health department employees various answers, ultimately leading to an antibiotic dispensing tent.

Some scenario differences were for people who had attended the concert, or were within proximity, others for people saying they feel fine, and others who felt ill. Antibiotic allergies were included, so that medication could be dispensed accordingly.
At its peak, volunteers made it through the drill from start-to-finish in about 20 minutes. When it wasn’t busy, they drove through in about ten.

As reward for participating in the drill, the first 500 drivers received a coupon for a free Icee. $50 gas gift cards from Pilot were given to every 100th driver and all were entered in a drawing to win $250 in gas from Pilot.