Facebook group a beacon of hope for those seeking Covid-19 vaccination appointments

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    ATLANTA, GA (WGCL) — COVID-19 has affected the lives of countless people, and for Kathy Everett’s daughter it means she can’t do her favorite thing in the world: enjoying restaurants with her family.

“We have been in lockdown since this all started,” said Everett, adding, “I just can’t take those chances right now, especially when I read the studies; the increase in people with down syndrome getting it and getting so sick and dying.”

Kathy Everett is a caregiver for her daughter with down syndrome, and has been desperate to get herself and her daughter vaccinated.

Having down syndrome and living in a long-term care facility puts Kathy’s daughter in the “High Risk” category and part of phase 1a.

“I would go to the Department of Public Health’s website, Kroger, Publix, Fulton County, so I was going to their sites but it would always say no appointments,” said Everett.

Many report being unable to find appointments, a messy system, and websites that crash constantly. That’s when the ladies from the unofficial Facebook group “GA COVID VAX APPT HELP” stepped in.

“Each of us books all day everyday for people,” said Lynley Teras, a co-founder of the group.

The group of women all volunteer their time, having come together after finding the systems were not helpful nor geared towards seniors.

“We quickly realized that the information was not out there and readily available, we also realized that it was definitely not geared towards seniors,” said Devon Tarter, a co-founder of the group.

In only a few weeks, the group has been able to help well over 1,000 people get appointments.

“Having the website address is really key, you’ll go onto the Department of Health website and they won’t actually have a link (to the vaccination appointment page),”said Allie Pridgen, a co-founder of the group. “So having those readily available (the direct web addresses) is key. I have about 12 or 15 of them up right now and you just keep refreshing and refreshing them all the time.”

Getting to the appointments has also been a major hurdle for many, and is a key reason as to why Atlanta will be part of a pilot program between Uber and Walgreens to ferry people for free to get vaccinated at Walgreens pharmacies.

Everett and her daughter have finally gotten their first vaccination thanks to the Facebook group, and hope many more will follow.

“I am indebted to this group of volunteers,” said Everett.

The Facebook group is open to helping anyone and everyone who is in phase 1a get an appointment.

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