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White House Task Force on Winter Climate and Vaccines
The White House says the winter affecting parts of the country has slowed vaccinations. This is because the Biden government admits that if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved, the launch will be slow. (February 17)
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Fran Goldman inspired the nation this week after she walked 6 miles through the snow in Seattle to receive her first injection of the COVID-19 vaccine. Besides, she did that at the age of 90.
“His secret is a combination of good genes and a commitment to daily exercise,” his daughter, Ruth Goldman, told USA TODAY. “She usually walks about 3 miles a day.”
Fran focuses on healthy eating and maintaining physical and mental fitness, and she “has always been interested in learning new things,” said her daughter. She is currently enrolled in a Zoom course on Chinese history and, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, she attended a series of courses in person.
“She’s healthier than me and my three brothers together!” said Ruth, 55, the youngest of Fran’s children who lives in Buffalo, New York.
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Ruth said her mother has been overwhelmed with messages and calls this week from Americans across the country, inspired by her story of determination. Ruth answered questions from USA TODAY on behalf of her mother.
She said her mother had been trying for about a month to secure a vaccine appointment.
Fran checked vacancies online several times a day. She tried several phone numbers. She even went into a pharmacy to see if they had a waiting list.
Last Friday, she finally clicked on the Seattle Children’s Hospital website and was able to schedule an appointment for Sunday morning, Ruth said.
“It was a lot of work. She was lucky because she feels comfortable browsing websites,” said Ruth. “Many other people your age or younger are not tech savvy or don’t have an internet or device they can use to access the site.”
Seattle received about a foot of snow on Friday and Saturday – one of the most snowy weekends on record – making the roads icy and treacherous. As the weather got worse, Fran kept checking the hospital’s website to see if they were rescheduling appointments; many other vaccination sites were closed due to the storm.
“Because it took so long to schedule the vaccine, she decided she couldn’t afford to miss her appointment because of bad weather,” said Ruth. “She knew she couldn’t drive and the cars couldn’t go on the incredibly steep road, so she started thinking about walking.”
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On Saturday, Fran took a practical walk to see how long it would take on foot, covering part of the journey, Ruth said. So she got up early on Sunday, wrapped in layers, picked up her canes and left.
“It took about an hour each way. There was already a good trail on the trail and it just proceeded with care,” said Ruth.
Fran arrived at her appointment about five minutes late, received her injection and waited 15 minutes for observation before making the return trip.
For Fran, the vaccine represents hope.
“She wants to be able to hug her great-grandchildren and have some appearance of a normal life,” said Ruth. “She knows that it will not be the same as the pre-pandemic and plans to continue wearing a mask and follow safety guidelines, but the risk of getting severe COVID will be much less.”
More than 12% of people in the United States received at least one injection of vaccine and about 4.7% of people received both doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the current rate of vaccination, trees would be losing their leaves this fall by the time most American adults could be vaccinated, and the vaccine distribution would need to double to reach the majority this summer, according to a panel of experts in the USA TODAY.
Follow the latest news from reporter Grace Hauck on Twitter @grace_hauck.