Garrett said that although the LDS Church was the health department's first contact, other faith-based or volunteer organizations are invited to become part of the emergency response effort.

Health officials believe the H5N1 virus, known as the avian flu, generally seems most likely to cause a widespread flu outbreak. But no vaccine exists.

The program using the stake centers couldn't work without enough vaccines, Garrett said.

Provided enough vaccines, health department officials have calculated each vaccination would take three minutes, and with enough volunteers, those administering the vaccines could get a break every 30 minutes.

"We don't know what we'd be facing," Garrett said. "We saw what happened in New Orleans. We did not want to replicate what happened there."

"We hope we never use the model," Garrison said.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com