Herrmann's clinic model used at UMD mass vaccination drill

Clinic model generation software developed by Associate Professor Jeffrey Herrmann (ME/ISR) helped the University of Maryland determine how many staff were needed and how many people could be processed through a mass vaccination drill on Oct. 15.

The university was testing its preparedness in vaccinating against large-scale outbreaks of the flu or other diseases. Close to 1,000 faculty, students and staff received shots for this fall's seasonal flu at the clinic.

Read about the drill and Herrmann's participation in this University of Maryland press release. Learn about Herrmann's research and download the Clinic Planning Model Generator software at his web site.

Herrmann also was interviewed by Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene of www.governing.com, who wrote:

"After years of on-and-off cutbacks in a number of states, we've long been concerned about the capacity of public health departments to do their jobs. Now it looks like the new seasonal flu shots will present an interesting opportunity to see just how well many can perform, according to a University of Maryland associate engineering professor, Jeffrey Herrmann. He has created software to help public health officials plan the logistics of allocating flu vaccines.

"It's like a preseason game for public health officials," he says. "These vaccination clinics give public health officials a chance to execute their plans in a real-world situation, unlike the exercises they've been practicing, and then to improve them before a more dangerous threat appears," Herrmann adds. "Experience and good planning are essential to saving lives when public health officials must respond to a deadly infectious disease."

Published October 16, 2009