State agency partnership solves vaccine delivery problem during winter weather

December's wind storm and flooding literally sent Vernonia Health Clinic's vaccine floating down the river. Additionally, the Columbia County Health Department needed extra tetanus vaccine to protect emergency medical responders and the public during rescue and clean-up efforts.

Safely Delivering the Vaccine

January's frigid temperatures caused problems for other health departments throughout Oregon. Many had received routine replacement vaccine from a national distributor but they arrived frozen and were unusable. Vaccines must be maintained at specific temperatures and these had been carried in poorly insulated trucks or left sitting on cold shipping docks.

Both times, the Oregon Department of Human Services Public Health Division in Portland had extra vaccine on hand. But getting it to where it was needed was a problem because roads were flooded or covered with deep snow pack.

Putting Practice to Work

Fortunately, DHS had worked with employees of the Oregon Department of Transportation as part of the 2006 and 2007 statewide exercises that involved emergency deliveries of medical supplies throughout the state.

Although that partnership was focused around exercises, it only seemed sensible to call on ODOT for assistance in these real-life emergencies.

Immunization staff called their ODOT contacts and received a welcome response. As a result:

• Four shipments of vaccine (1,120 immunizations) were delivered to Vernonia as part of the state's response effort to the 2007 winter storm. The vaccines were for children and adults and prevent tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough).

Todd Mundinger, ODOT, in Medford with Jeri Sullivan, Children and Adolescent Clinic (top photo) and with Barbara Bruce, Southern Oregon Pediatric Clinic

• Jan. 29 saw 1,080 child and adult immunizations delivered to 20 health clinics to protect against diseases such as pertussis, measles, mumps, hepatitis, flu and meningitis.

ODOT worked across jurisdictional lines to deliver the supplies. An 18-wheeler truck from Portland handed vaccine off to a jeep in LaGrande, which took it to Ontario.

ODOT improvised as needed - when a shipment was sent off without coolant the driver stopped for ice, packed it into a rubber glove and placed it in the container. One incident response truck was the last to be allowed to go through on the snow-packed Klamath Falls route.

"Thanks to help from ODOT, we were able to get needed vaccine to counties and our staff didn't have to face hazardous driving conditions," said Lorraine Duncan, immunization manager in the DHS Public Health Division. "This partnership with ODOT worked - both during our exercises and in real life."