These three women could be your vaccination appointment angels.
Although it’s great that COVID-19 vaccines are publicly available, the lack of clarity on how to obtain one for yourself or loved ones is causing as much anxiety for many Pittsburghers as the disease itself.
“I was seeing a lot of confusion on Facebook, especially, people asking questions about where, when to get it,” said Leighann Bacher, 29, of Hampton. “There are a lot of people who have no idea where to start.”
That sense of chaos surrounding the vaccination roll out is what prompted Ms. Bacher, Heather Lucci and Liz Huber to start the Getting Pittsburgh Vaccinated Facebook group, which serves as a centralized hub where members can share information about where vaccines are in stock, how to sign up for appointments and more.
By mid-February, the group had more than 18,200 members and counting — a testament to how useful such a streamlined resource is proving to be in the early stages of vaccine distribution.
“Now that we have the vaccine, it’s quite challenging to get a vaccination appointment,” said Ms. Huber, 35, of McCandless. “We felt like we were in the dark as everything was unfolding. Sharing all that information with everyone else was really rewarding.”
All three women are mothers of young children, with Ms. Bacher and Ms. Lucci having two kids each and Ms. Huber three. Ms. Lucci, 37, of Hampton, and Ms. Bacher met through their first graders, and, after both expressed their frustration with the current vaccine dispersal system, Ms. Lucci brought in Ms. Huber on their fledgling public service project.
While Ms. Huber works as a real estate agent and Ms. Bacher is the editorial director of a marketing company, Ms. Lucci is a physician’s assistant who was sick of being unable to point her patients in the general direction of a vaccine.
“I found that I kept hitting a wall,” she said. “... I said to them, ‘Let me be honest. I can help you with so many things, but I cannot answer that.’ And that felt so helpless to me. I was grasping at straws trying to find ways to feel helpful.”
Their Facebook group has grown exponentially since launching Jan. 31, with its members now also cataloging their vaccine-procurement tips, while the three founders also provide individual assistance in scheduling appointments. Ms. Bacher said she has scheduled about 30 for Western Pennsylvanians in need, and Ms. Huber has booked between 75 and 100, while Ms. Lucci continues to provide her medical expertise whenever needed.
One person they helped get a vaccine appointment was Nancie Burtch, 58, of Brentwood, who received her first dose Feb. 9. She suffers from both diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis and doesn’t have access to a laptop, but she said Ms. Bacher was able to help her get an appointment by phone and even offered to drive her there if necessary.
“They’re angels. Every one of those ladies are angels,” Ms. Burtch said. “It’s not just them. Other people have come to the group and started using their abilities to help other people. That whole group, they’re angels.”
They also assisted Susan Schroeder, 55, of Coraopolis, in securing vaccine appointments for her parents and her mother-in-law. Ms. Schroeder was particularly desperate to get her motherin-law vaccinated so she can visit her husband, who has Parkinson’s disease, in the nursinghome where he lives.
“They are tremendously selfless people because they are devoting hours and hours of their time to help people they don’t even know,” Ms. Schroeder said. “They’re touching a lot of people’s lives.”
Ms. Bacher likened the current difficulty of receiving a shot to being like “winning the lottery or playing a slot machine and you get that jackpot.” Both she and Ms. Lucci have gotten their initial doses, and Ms. Huber, who isn’t vaccine-eligible yet, finally was able to get her parents appointments after struggling to do so for a while.
“The sense of relief, I don’t even know if I can explain it,” Ms. Huber said. “I didn’t realize there was an elephant on my chest until I got the appointment. I got such relief and such joy, and I want other people to feel that joy, too.”
The founders of Getting Pittsburgh Vaccinated all are heartened by what promises to be a more deliberate vaccine distribution process in the future with, they hope, enough shots on hand for everyone who needs one.
But for now, Pittsburghers can take advantage of their Facebook group if they’ve hit a dead end in finding a vaccine for themselves or someone they care about.
“We’re just glad we can fill this void right now,” Ms. Bacher said. “We’re just happy to be here while we are necessary.”