Volunteers are needed throughout the state. For more information, please call Infoline at 2-1-1.

What does it mean to volunteer? 

Volunteers would be required to staff positions in mass vaccination clinics in the event of a bioterrorist incident and other emergency clinics conducted by health departments. Volunteering for these positions does not mean that you would have to be vaccinated (volunteers will need to be vaccinated and prophylaxed at the beginning of a campaign in response to an outbreak in order to work in the clinic). Health Departments need to identify potential volunteers for these positions prior to an event in order to train them in the tasks that they would be performing, as well as possibly utilizing them in training exercises.

How old do I have to be in order to volunteer? 

 Volunteers need to be at least 18 years old and in good health.

How will people without transportation get to the clinic? 

Volunteers or Mass Transportation will be the most likely transportation methods used to get citizens to and from the vaccination clinics.

If I volunteer to help in a mass vaccination clinic, will I get a higher priority for vaccination than the general public? 

Currently the mass vaccination plan calls for vaccinating the entire state in 10 days. The personnel staffing vaccination clinics would be vaccinated on the first day, with the general public being called to the clinics over the next 9 days using a random method by the first initial of the last name of the head of household.

How many clinics will there be if we have to vaccinate the entire state? 

In a post-event scenario, vaccination clinics would be established on a basis of one clinic to service 50,000 citizens in the community. Statewide this averages to approximately 70 clinics to vaccinate the 3.2 million Connecticut residents.

How many volunteers will be needed to operate the clinics?  

Vaccination Clinics are currently being planned to operate for 16 hours a day for the duration of the emergency. Each clinic would need approximately 250 volunteers to operate the clinic for 16 hours per day (2 shifts of 8 hours each). Statewide, the total number of volunteers needed would be approximately 17,500.

How is the planning for these mass vaccination clinics being accomplished? 

The state has been divided into 42 smallpox planning regions to plan for the response to a release of Smallpox in Connecticut. Each planning region has a full-time health department/district responsible for coordinating the planning efforts at the community level.

What types of skills are necessary to volunteer for the mass vaccination clinics? 

The majority of the volunteer positions in the mass vaccination clinics would require no special skills. These positions would facilitate forms distribution, traffic flow, data entry of records, distribution of supplies and security of the clinic. There are some positions, such as vaccinators, triage personnel and medical screeners that would require some special medical skills.

Where would I be stationed and for how long?

Volunteers will be referred to one of the 42 health departments identified as the Smallpox Planning Area Leader for their region. These departments would then get contact information from the volunteers and provide them with information regarding specifics of clinic operation. Generally, volunteers would be assigned to clinics as close to their residence as possible. Current plans are for Clinics to operate for two eight hour shifts, but this may vary depending upon local plans and demands.

What might I be asked to do?  

Positions within the mass vaccination clinics are basically divided into two categories: medical and non-medical. Medical positions would require specialized training or licensing due to the technical nature of the tasks being performed and statutory requirements with regard to who can administer immunizations. These positions would include vaccinators, medical screeners, personnel involved in Triage of the ill, physician evaluators and Vaccine preparation personnel. Non-medical positions would include the administrative and operational functions of the clinic. These positions would deal with forms distribution, educational material distribution, security, flow of people both to the clinic and through the clinic, data entry of medical records, translators and control of the supplies needed for the clinic to function.