After helping their own grandparents get the vaccine in Louisville, the pair knew that there were other elderly people in their community who would benefit from a helping hand.
Older people are struggling
Many of the 50 million seniors over 65 are struggling to navigate confusing vaccine distribution plans that can vary from state to state and, in some cases, from county to county.
“I would estimate that 10% to 20% are at risk of losing vaccines because they are confined at home, live alone, do not have transportation or do not have reliable social connections,” Dr. Anand Iyer, an pulmonologist from Alabama specializing in adult health care older, he said. “Unfortunately, these are the same factors that put you at risk for Covid’s poor results.”
“I think the most important part of this is that they (the elderly) know that we are there for them every step of the way,” said Beck. “Everyone has been so alone, in prison for almost 10 months, so it’s really a sense of relief for them to be able to get the vaccine because they’re so scared.”
Technical support for Covid-19 vaccines
The pair said they completed the entire application process for their own grandparents because they had trouble going through the verification processes and authentication steps “and then, when we started helping their friends, we realized it was a more common problem than we expected” . Said Teague.
Two weeks ago, the pair created a template, set up a private Facebook page and a phone line for seniors from across Kentucky to call if they need help scheduling their vaccine, dubbed VaxConnectKY.
Shortly after the model was made, Teague and Beck’s elementary and high school ended up posting the pamphlet on their respective Facebook pages and calls started to rain. The two say they will not stop until the orders stop.
Cousins don’t take anyone’s confidential information; they only guide people through the technical steps.
Seniors without Internet access are a major concern for the pair.
“We give them a phone number to get on the hospital waiting list,” said Teague. “We feel that they appreciate the contact or point of contact.”
Kate Eller, director of Norton Healthcare’s communications and public relations system, praised the cousins for their effort.
“We thank these young women for seeing a need and helping to provide an essential and sincere service,” she told CNN in a statement. “Their idea of helping the elderly in our community to register for the COVID-19 vaccines is a great example of true servant leadership.
“Technology can be challenging and we have been encouraging seniors to ask for help from friends or family whenever possible.”
Since cousins are doing hybrid learning, their alternating school schedules allow them to work at VaxConnectKY all the time. When one is at school, the other takes care of calls and emails.
On days when the two are busy, Beck said they call people at lunch breaks and between classes with the help of their brothers, who they also trained to intervene when necessary.
“We had people calling us, complaining about how grateful they are that we are helping them achieve this and now they can finally do that,” said Beck. “It is a good feeling for us to know that we are helping without contributing to Kentucky numbers in Covid-19 cases.”
VaxConnectKY has successfully helped people in New Jersey and Florida, Teague said. They are currently researching how to fulfill an order that came from Missouri, although the pair say they no longer have the bandwidth to expand to states outside Kentucky.
“We would like the system to be simplified,” said Teague. “There are a lot of obstacles that you need to overcome to get your appointment, so I just wanted the whole system to be easier to navigate.”