In the event of a catastrophic public health emergency, large segments of the population may need to receive prophylaxis (preventative medicine) quickly. In densely populated areas, this becomes a daunting task that must be executed with great efficiency.

The Cities Readiness Initiative provides direct assistance to designated cities throughout the nation to build the response capacity needed to provide preventative medicine to 100 percent of their population within a 48 hour period.

In the case of an emergency, PODS (points of dispensing) will be established at indoor facilities while others will be operated outside as a drive thru process. In addition, other dispensing options may need to be used to reach additional segments of an at-risk population.