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What is a POD?
What is a POD?
A POD is a location that is used to distribute medications, vaccines, or medical supplies in the event of a public health emergency. These locations are only operable in the event of a health emergency such as a bioterrorism attack or disease outbreak affecting a large number of people. When a POD activates, the goal is to distribute mass quantities of medication or vaccine to a population as quickly as possible.
PODs play an integral role in protecting the public’s health in the event of exposure to a life threatening biological agent or an infectious disease outbreak. A POD is used as a way to prevent the spread of infection through a population. Healthy community members, who are not already showing signs or symptoms of any disease, will access a POD to receive preventive medication or vaccine that will protect them from the biological agent and/or infectious disease.
A POD is not:
- A shelter
- A place to seek emergency medical services
- A clinic
- A hospital
To learn more about Points of Dispensing and what to do in the event of a bioterrorism attack or infectious disease outbreak please click the link below to watch the Introduction to PODs video.