Area public health, public information, law enforcement, and emergency management officials participated from July 17-20 in Capital Fortitude, a full-scale exercise designed to evaluate how area governments would respond to a biological attack, including their ability to dispense medication quickly.
Jurisdictions participating in the exercise tested their bio-detection and early warning systems as well as coordination and communications processes. Each jurisdiction also opened simulated medication dispensing sites, known as Points of Dispensing or PODs, to measure the effectiveness of their systems.
While no actual medications were handed out, public health staff and volunteers went through the same procedures and protocols as they would in a real public health emergency.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Public Health Emergency Planners Subcommittee organized the exercise, which involved more than 20 jurisdictions in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.
A full-scale exercise, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional operations-based exercise involving actual deployment of resources in a coordinated response as if a real incident had occurred. Area governments, working through COG, regularly conduct emergency exercises to increase the region’s ability to detect, prepare, train for, and respond to man-made and natural threats.
Capital Fortitude Exercise (Fairfax County Government/YouTube)
MORE: In the U.S. Capital, Prepping for an Anthrax Attack (U.S. News & World Report)