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Disaster Zone Podcast: Planning for Mass Vaccination Sites

An emergency management perspective on responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The latest Disaster Zone Podcast is Planning for Mass Vaccination Sites

Here's the description of the podcast:

"Emergency management organizations have now been immersed in COVID-19 response for over a year. This podcast is an interview with Jody Ferguson, Director for Pierce County Department of Emergency Management. In it we explore how her department responded first to the call to help with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) distribution and then more recently with mass vaccination efforts by the county. We also discuss how she views the “distraction” of having to focus on COVID-19 versus the normal emergency management program requirements."

Pierce County Department of Emergency Management has a robust emergency management capability that goes beyond the basic emergency management office of emergency management. Those total assets help significantly with managing disasters. The size and composition of the department and the county set the stage for the rest of the podcast.


This last item of how they approached responding to the pandemic from the "get go" and how that response focus has continued in a very significant manner. They have embraced the mission rather than shying away from being drawn deeper into the coronavirus response. Even today, they have 75% of their emergency management personnel resources committed to the pandemic response.