‘I sent some basic information and by morning I was sending a message from someone who said,’ Can you bring them to Jackson? [Health] this morning? “Thompson said.” “It was surreal because I examined every avenue and then suddenly confirmed an appointment. I was petrified, but hoped it would happen out of complete desperation.”
“I was completely amazed,” said her 75-year-old mother, Sandra Wortzel, who has never been on Facebook. “I’m not very good at computer – and it has been so difficult for me and other older people to manage this process – but I’m so grateful to be vaccinated.”
Katherine Quirk, a nurse, and her fiancé Russell Schwartz launched the Facebook page in South Florida in January after first experiencing the challenges of having Schwartz’s parents register for a vaccine. They started sharing alerts on the page when they discovered that certain vaccines were open, based on researching, calling and refreshing medical sites. They also published ‘tips’ that Quirk learned from the medical community, such as when a center quietly accepts institutions following non-attendance appointments.
But when spots open, it will immediately fill up. The couple therefore created a waiting list that collects names and basic information, such as birthdays and addresses, from Facebook members of the group. Then they would register those people when appointments were available. With the help of a few volunteers, the couple claims to have booked ‘thousands’ of appointments over the past few weeks.
“We want to continue with that after vaccines are available for more,” Quirk said. “All we want is for people to get shot in the arms.”
“I do not have a working email address or a cell phone, so I would not be able to register myself or get the vaccine so quickly … without their help,” said Sally Ebeling, 82. Canton, New York, who had not left her property since February 2020 and used the Association of the Aging to book her appointment. “I started for my lap on Tuesday. A volunteer came to pick me up to drive to the drug store,” she said.
Some senior citizens also receive technical support from a more well-known source: their grandchildren. Missy Perez, a social media manager for the Philadelphia Phillies, said she spent the best part of a working meeting on a website earlier this month to register her grandparents in Florida. But the site kept crashing.
‘My grandmother was frustrated earlier in the morning and called in tears with her attempts to sign up, and finally received a message that she was excluded too many times to try – a message she thought was specific to her and not “Many others did not realize they were in the same boat,” Perez told CNN Business.
Her entire family collapsed, including Missy’s sister who waited on her guard for an hour before being disconnected. “I multitasked and opened the mid-Zoom call link. I was so excited that I came through that I, without dumbness, shouted at my mother who came running.” Her mother unknowingly stands in the background of the camera recording as they work quickly to fill out the forms.
“Luckily I work with wonderful people, and when I explained to the group what I do, they were so supportive and encouraged them via Zoom,” she said. “They roared and cheered when we suspended the two appointment times.”