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White House Working Group on Winter Weather and Vaccinations
The White House said winter conditions affecting parts of the country have slowed vaccinations. It comes as the Biden administration admits that if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved, the rollout will be slow. (Feb. 17)
AP
Fran Goldman inspired the nation this week after hiking 10 km round trip in the snow in Seattle to get his first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. Plus, she did it at 90.
“Her secret is a combination of good genes and a commitment to daily exercise,” her daughter, Ruth Goldman, told USA TODAY. “She usually walks about 3 miles a day.”
Fran focuses on healthy eating and being in good physical and mental shape, and she “has always been interested in learning new things,” her daughter said. She is currently enrolled in a Zoom in on Chinese History course and, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, she took a range of in-person courses.
“She is healthier than me and my three siblings combined!” says Ruth, 55, the youngest of Fran’s children who lives in Buffalo, New York.
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Ruth said her mother had been inundated 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 get an appointment for a vaccine.
Fran checked online for openings several times a day. She tried different phone numbers. She even walked 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 make an appointment Sunday morning, Ruth said.
“It was a lot of work. She got lucky, though, because she’s comfortable on websites,” Ruth said. “Many other people his age and younger are not tech savvy or don’t have the Internet or a device they can use to access the website.”
Seattle received about a foot of snow Friday and Saturday – among its snowiest weekends on record – making the roads icy and dangerous. As the weather got worse, Fran continued to check the hospital’s website to see if they were rescheduling appointments; many other vaccination sites had closed due to the storm.
“Because it had taken her so long to schedule the vaccine, she decided she couldn’t risk missing the appointment due to the bad weather,” said Ruth. “She knew she couldn’t drive and cars couldn’t get through the incredibly steep driveway, so she started to think about walking.”
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On Saturday, Fran took a practice walk to see how long it would take her on foot, covering part of the trip, Ruth said. Then she got up early Sunday, stacked herself in layers, grabbed her trekking poles and left.
“It took him about an hour each way. There was already a good trail on the trail and she proceeded cautiously, ”said Ruth.
Fran arrived for her appointment about five minutes late, received her photo, and waited for the 15 minutes of 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 semblance of a normal life,” Ruth said. “She knows it won’t be the same as before the pandemic and plans to continue wearing a mask and following safety guidelines, but the risk of contracting severe COVID will be much lower.”
More than 12% of people in the United States have received at least one vaccine vaccine and about 4.7% of people have received both doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the current rate of vaccination, trees would shed their leaves this fall when most adults in the United States could be vaccinated, and vaccine delivery is expected to double to most this summer, according to a USA TODAY panel of experts.
Follow journalist Grace Hauck on Twitter @grace_hauck.
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