DAVIDSON, N.C. — Although seniors have been put near the top of the priority list for vaccinations, one major problem that has emerged is that not all of them are physically able to get to the vaccine locations. Those without transportation help have been stuck without a vaccine.
On Friday, 93-year-old Jean Little was able to get her vaccine.
“I did it’s a happy day,” Little said.
Little said she can still get around behind the wheel.
"Yes, I still drive, mostly to the grocery store,” Little said.
Still, her daughter drove her the 12 miles from home to get to the Bojangles Coliseum for a vaccine.
“I could’ve probably done it, but it wouldn’t have been easy,” Little said.
Unlike Little, though, seniors who can’t drive and don’t have extra help can’t get to vaccine locations at all.
"If they don’t have someone like me, a daughter who takes care of me, it’s really sad,” Little said.
It’s a problem Davidson Town Commissioner, Jane Campbell said is big in their area.
"We are the geographically northernmost town in Mecklenburg County,” Campbell said.
The Bojangles Coliseum is roughly 26 miles away from Davidson, and Campbell said transportation isn’t as easy as buying seniors a cab, bus or Uber, but a question of safety.
"Is it safe for somebody who has otherwise been quarantining for the last 10 months,” Campbell said.
Campbell says town leadership has been working nonstop to find a solution.
"All of my colleagues, the mayor, we are just looking," Campbell said, "we’re trying to do everything that we can.”
She says having a county vaccine location closer to the northern end would help.
"If I’m going to work to get volunteers to drive folks, I'd far prefer to have transportation of having to get somebody a mile to five miles, than 26 miles or 30 miles,” Campbell said.
Campbell said it would also be more ideal for potential drivers to be in a car with a senior for 10 to 20 minutes, versus an hour.
This is a problem seen across the Carolinas, though, and Campbell hopes people will step up for the seniors in their community.
"We need to be mindful and find those neighbors who don’t have that transportation because they’re there," Campbell said.