It was early January, and Emily Johnson was in a panic. She frantically called public health lines and scoured the Web, seeking a coveted coronavirus vaccine appointment. No luck.
Johnson, 68, who lives in Austin, was scheduled to have open-heart surgery in late February, and her cardiologist strongly advised she get vaccinated before flying to Cleveland for the procedure.
But the slow vaccine rollout in Texas made it seemingly impossible for Johnson to get inoculated – even though she’s over 65 and has a serious health condition.
Desperate, she posted on the neighborhood networking site Nextdoor, hoping someone might know something she didn’t.
“Hello Neighbors! I am a 68-yr-old female facing open heart surgery,” Johnson wrote on Jan. 7, in a group covering southwest Austin. She explained her dilemma.
“My doctors here in Austin have no access to the vaccine, so I have been spending up to an hour each morning, putting my name on lists and making dozens of phone calls,” she wrote.