Wisconsin Vaccine Hunters Share How to Get COVID Vaccines

According to Davis, it has proven to be lonely and difficult, but ultimately worth it. Her husband, over 30 years old, died of pneumonia in 2019 and she is afraid to get COVID-19. She is the legal guardian of an adult child and is responsible for medical and financial decisions.

Davis has her own disability and her family participates in IRIS, a voluntary program for the frail elderly and disabled adults in Wisconsin. As a result, all three are eligible for vaccination this month.

However, Davis didn’t know how to make a reservation. The sign-up website she found couldn’t explain the process in a straightforward manner.

At that time, she saw a TMJ4 news article about Milwaukee and a Facebook group called WI Area Vaccine Hunter and Angel. There, Wisconsin shares tips for stealing promises.

___

Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit news agency, contributed this article to the Associated Press in collaboration with the Institute for Nonprofit News.

___

She joined the group and posted her story. It associated her with group founder Bob Olek. He said finding a vaccine for the Davis family was his “personal mission.” Orech linked her to a Walgreens pharmacist he met through the group. Davis and both kids received the first shot the next day.

“I think that’s one of the stories I’m most proud of,” said Orech, 47, retail regional manager in Germantown, Wisconsin.

The fast-growing Facebook group has helped many Wisconsins navigate the state’s COVID-19 vaccine bureaucracy. Wisconsin is one of the country’s leaders in distributing vaccinations to those who want it, but demand is still outstripping supply and some eligible residents still struggle to find reservations. I am.

The Facebook group is one of dozens of emerging groups nationwide where members share insights for booking vaccinations. Some people, like Orech, schedule others. They are known as “angels”.

Orech started the group in late February after helping members of Chicago’s Facebook group find their parents’ reservations in the suburbs of Chicago. If that approach worked in Chicago, he wondered, why not Wisconsin? As of March 11, approximately 2,700 people are participating in the Milwaukee Group.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health, Wisconsin has more than 1.8 million vaccines as of March 11. Approximately 1 in 5 people in Wisconsin are vaccinated at least once, and more than 1 in 10 are fully vaccinated. Wisconsin Watch and WPR spoke with eight vaccinated residents. Here is their insight.

Lisa Kirchberg, 67, had no problems getting vaccinated in Milwaukee. Her healthcare provider, associated with Froed Tart and the University of Wisconsin Medical School, sent a letter in February stating that she was eligible and could book by phone.

She followed the instructions and received her first vaccination on February 13th and scheduled a second vaccination on March 15th.

“I really want this. I’m not afraid of it,” said Kirchberg, adding that he strictly adheres to the COVID-19 protocol while living in a 500-person building.

Each healthcare provider has its own system for booking vaccine appointments.

DHS maintains a searchable map of Wisconsin vaccine providers. This map shows the vaccine registration websites for healthcare providers, county health departments, and pharmacies. Some local governments offer their own portals for signing up.

However, reservations can fill up quickly. Orech said that members of his group have collected patterns that reveal the best time to book at a particular location. Walgreens, for example, seems to start accepting new appointments every day at 6am and reach out to early rising birds. Other pharmacies such as CVS, Walmart, and Meijer are moving the target, Orech said.

Many websites require the person seeking the vaccine to create an account. Orech suggests doing so early to save valuable time once the booking is in place.

A Madison supply chain worker qualified for vaccination on March 1, when Wisconsin expanded its qualifications to non-frontline essential healthcare professionals. At the age of 24, he asked not to be named because he was afraid of negative attention from those who might consider him unfit for his age. He failed for three days to schedule Madison’s Walgreens appointment.

On the fourth day, when I agreed to the Australian Cattle Dog’s outing request and was half awake, I realized that it might be easier to book in my hometown of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. He booked Walgreens appointments there on his first attempt.

He said last week’s one-hour drive was worth it. However, he feels guilty about being shot while his father, who is under 65 but is considered at high risk for COVID-19, is not yet qualified.

On March 11, Wisconsin announced that it would extend the eligibility of the vaccine to people with certain medical conditions from March 29. DHS plans to qualify all residents over the age of 16 by the end of May.

A 64-year-old Madison folk singer, actor, and sailboat sailor, Tom Castle earned much of his pre-pandemic income from concerts performed at nursing homes in and around Wisconsin. The company was depleted as care facilities associated with 30% of COVID-19-related deaths in Wisconsin banned visitors from controlling the spread of the disease.

A friend and fellow folk singer recently sent a postcard to the castle, calling himself “vaccine, mask, live music.” Another friend told Kastle that nursing homes are vaccinated against their independent contractors. The castle is a combination of two and two. When the Nursing Home asked him for a concert on St. Patrick’s Day, Castle asked about getting vaccinated. He received his first dose on February 24th.

Others managed to score the rest of the vaccine.

Orech said members of the Facebook group called the pharmacy at the end of the day requesting leftovers that could expire and be thrown away, such as because they missed a reservation.

“Pharmacists love their customers. They really do,” Olek said. “They are more attentive to our family than we have ever noticed.”

Some vaccination sites provide a standby list for those who agree to appear soon for the remaining doses. Other vaccine hunters appeared on the vaccination site without a prompt to ask about extras near closing hours. Over a million people are signing up for extras through Dr. B, a national web startup that matches people with local providers.

Many vaccine hunting tips include time, technology, and resources to show how vulnerable communities can be defeated. Hashim Zaibak, founder and pharmacist of Hayat Pharmacy in Milwaukee, is clearly aware of the problem.

Poor Internet access restrictions surfaced early in the pandemic, Zybak said, when Governor Tony Evers’ administration announced a COVID-19 test registration website that required an email address. With more than a dozen locations, Hayat also offers tests to residents. Some residents have no access to their smartphones, email addresses, or internet access. Some people do not speak English.

As a result, pharmacies hired employees to enroll community members for testing.

“We told our employees,” Hey, this platform was for young, tech-savvy people who knew how to operate the Internet, but people in our community. May not be able to do that, so help them, “said Zybak.

Access to vaccines poses similar challenges. Hayat’s Solution: We offer carry-on reservations at several locations, including 6 days a week, at 813 W. Layton Ave. in Milwaukee, the headquarters of the pharmacy.

“There was a late day when 50 or 60 people were just vaccinated, and there was a really busy day when we were close to 1,000 people a day,” said Zaibak.

Zybak said Hayato was taking more doses than the state expected, and pharmacies weren’t wasting doses. If additional doses remain near the end of the day, staff will immediately call qualified people waiting on Hayato’s standby list.

Milwaukee’s widow, Davis, looks forward to completing her family’s vaccinations. She looks forward to going out more often with her children and friends and breathing in the fresh air. Her daughter works at Goodwill 15 hours a week. Davis wants the vaccine to provide enough protection for his son to start working part-time.

But first, they need a second dose and they haven’t scheduled their appointment yet. The Davis family first vaccinated with Moderna, but the company recommends waiting a month between doses.

As that date approaches, Davis is looking for an appointment again.