Sparta Woman Fights To Vaccinate Vet Dad Who Has MS

PARSIPPANY, NJ - Julianne Buccino blinked away tears in her bleary, burning eyes that were a combination of fatigue, fear and anger over another attempt to get her father, a military veteran battling multiple sclerosis, a COVID-19 vaccination appointment. Another attempt that ended in failure.

Buccino, a Sparta resident who has been teaching middle school in Parsippany for two decades, is no stranger to late nights grading papers, writing lesson plans or taking care of something for her children Josephine, 18, Dante, 15, or Ryan, 5. But these all-nighters had become a matter of life or death.

So she took action and created a petition in the hopes that others would join her in championing for senior citizens that were being left behind by the technology of the sign-up process.

"I started the petition because I was so angry and upset, I did not know what else to do," she told Patch.

It is clear that Buccino gets much from her step-father, the person she calls Dad. Charles H. Johnson is a former Vietnam Platoon leader served 19 years in the military, where he was permanently wounded. He was an editor for the Home News for 31 years, and he is also a Ginsberg Award Winning Poet with multiple books. Johnson volunteered his service to the Parsippany School District as a poet, hosting student workshops, for over a decade.

100 Hours Wasted

The formerly independent Johnson found himself facing a new challenge when the Garden State rolled out their COVID-19 vaccination protocol. Buccino said much of that is due to his illness.

"He now has MS and he cannot manipulate computers very well," Buccino said. "Veterans Affairs directs him to the state phone lines, which direct him back to the internet."

Buccino got involved and was able to get an appointment for her mother, but her attempts to help her father were not successful.

"I have registered with every site possible. To date, I have spent well over 100 hours searching for appointments. My dad is registered with the state and every single other site that allowed me to register him," she said. "I did secure appointments for my mother-in-law and mother via Atlantic Health, after about 50 hours at it. I am not exaggerating."

Buccino said that her father's illness makes it hard for him to physically be that tenacious initially her mother was left to make appointments for both of them.

"I got involved because she gave up. My mom, a retired teacher of 37 years, who has a masters degree, cried to me on the phone and told me she just could not do it anymore. She actually had a medical incident from the issue, so I could not handle her attempting this alone anymore," Buccino said. "She told me it was just too confusing she kept trying and only got nowhere."

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Buccino admitted she initially thought it was her mother just having difficulty, as she had been in isolation in their Somerset County townhouse for so long.

"However, the more I reached out to friends and colleagues, the more I learned that everyone I knew seemed to be in the same predicament with their senior parents. Since I personally know of numerous younger people in great health who are now one dose in or fully vaccinated, I thought I could fix this for them. I was wrong when it came to my Dad," she said.

Buccino had a friend try to get her in through Atlantic Healthcare on the suggestion she register her father for an appointment with an in-system doctor.

"I did that, but it still did not work, and he still cannot get an appointment. He went to Princeton Medical Center, which does not offer appointments. I registered him with their affiliated hospital and Penn Medical Health System," Buccino said. "I also registered him with the Veterans Association, which basically referred me back to the state website. I also registered him with his county."

Buccino also waited on the state hotline for over an hour, only to get disconnected and her mother was told to go back to the website or was disconnected after waiting on hold. But for her part, Buccino is unbowed.

"I keep trying, before the sun is up, in the middle of the night and late in the evenings. I stay at it until my eyes are blurry and hurt, or until I am so frustrated I want to cry," she said.

All told, she has eclipsed 100 hours in her efforts to hunt down an inoculation.

Simple Goals

The goal of the petition is to get state phone lines properly staffed to actually support senior citizens directly with getting appointments.

"They are the most susceptible group to passing away from Covid-19, and there is no excuse for it being this hard. Beyond that, it is also critical that senior citizens know that properly manned phone lines exist, once they do," Buccino said. "New Jersey needs a proactive vaccination appointment approach that does not depend upon computers and is senior citizen friendly. The hotline "sounds like'' a good solution, but it has not yet worked for my Dad or many others."

Beyond those efforts, she hopes that her petition can bring attention to the subject, not just for her father but for others who aren't in a comparable situation. Buccino said she realizes her Dad is more fortunate than the seniors who do not have anyone to stalk internet sites for them.

"I cannot help thinking about all those seniors who do not have a child to assist them, and what a disgrace it is that we are forgetting them in their most vulnerable hour," she said.

Those interested can sign the petition online.

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