An ad hoc committee will organize a two-day public workshop that will explore opportunities to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainable methods used by the CDC Division of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to distribute medical countermeasures and other supplies during disasters and other public health emergencies, especially those which result in disruption of physical infrastructure such as the electrical grid, central roadways, bridges, and tunnels within the impacted community. Further, the workshop will explore relevant distribution lessons learned from other federal agency stockpiles and the private sector as well as opportunities to develop public-private collaborations in the purchase, warehousing, management, and distribution of medical countermeasures.
The committee will develop the workshop agenda, select and invite speakers and discussants, and moderate the discussions. The workshop discussions will provide participants an opportunity to better explore the applicability of existing and new technology and practices to inform CDC’s distribution of medical countermeasures and supplies within the Strategic National Stockpile. Specifically, the workshop will feature invited presentations and discussions that will:
• Provide a broad overview of current efforts underway at CDC, DoD, and the VA to distribute medical countermeasures and other supplies during a disaster or other public health emergency;
• Review novel practices used by private industry to distribute medical products and supplies on a day to day basis as well as during an emergency;
• Identify major gaps in currently available distribution methods in the public and private sectors;
• Identify opportunities for collaboration and coordination between CDC and among relevant federal as well as industry programs to support effective and efficient medical countermeasure distribution; and
• Examine opportunities to enhance the economic sustainability of the SNS in view of evolving mission expectations and new MCM research and development.
A summary of the presentations and discussions at the workshop will be prepared by a designated rapporteur in accordance with institutional guidelines.