Elderly struggling to register for COVID vaccinations
By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor
It took Jim Renbarger and his wife, Jody, just a few minutes to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination during an Upper Missouri District Health Unit (UMDHU) clinic for area residents 65 years of age and older on Friday, Feb. 5. But he says the process of getting signed up to receive the shot was anything but simple.
“I’m not computer literate,” stated Renbarger. “It was complicated and I don’t see elderly people being able to navigate the online site.”
According to Renbarger, it took him 20 minutes to complete the online sign-up for himself. And once he had figured it out, registering his wife only took him 10 minutes.
“If my parents were alive there is no way they could have been able to do the sign-up online,” stated Renbarger. “They would have needed someone to do it for them.”
According to Ashley Saylor, a registered nurse with the UMDHU, the struggle that Renbarger encountered with registering online is real. And, it is not the only struggle that many McKenzie County senior citizens are facing when it comes to getting vaccinated for the coronavirus.
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