BOSTON — His Craigslist ad says he is looking to assist any seniors aged 75 or older. He says he would be willing to help them enter their information, book their appointments, and drive them to and from the appointment. When we responded to the ad, he answered our questions but wanted to stay anonymous.
“I just thought of it as honestly a win-win, you know,” he said. “Obviously I’d love to have the vaccine. I don’t want to cut in front of people who are more in need of it, but I figure if I can help someone who is 75 plus out, you know, the more the population that gets the vaccine the better for everyone. So, now I can do a nice service to someone in need and in turn, you know reap a benefit as well.”
“I don’t think so,” said 81-year-old Wellesley resident Maria Ferzoco who just got her vaccine Thursday. “You should wait for your turn. I mean, we waited all this time for ours and your turn will also come.”
Gov. Charlie Baker’s new rule says if someone 75 and over is accompanied by a trusted companion, regardless of their age, they can both get their shot.
“If you are 75 years or older and you need assistance going through the vaccination process, you should only reach out to someone you know or trust to bring you as a companion,” said Baker.
The problem though is it’s hard to prove who is a trusted companion.
“I don’t want to take somebody just so I can get it myself,” said Newton resident Ashley Balthazar. “I feel like that is kind of scamming the system trying to find someone around 75 years old so I can get ahead; that doesn’t make sense to me because there are a lot of other people who need it first.”
“I expect all of this ridiculous behavior,” said Dedham resident Kevin McElroy. “The fact that you have to come out and ask a question like this is ridiculous.”
Some of the ads were from people who say they work in or have conditions where they feel they should move up in line and some not so much.
“I don’t have any underlying conditions, honestly I’m relatively young and healthy,” said the ad poster. “I figured I’ll post it if I got any, if I get any results, great. If not, it’s pretty low effort and not really any downside to it.”
The companion program is only for those large mass vaccination sites.
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