That’s how much time Julianne Buccino has spent trying to get her elderly father

Now, the teacher from Sparta, New Jersey, blinks away tears, fatigue, fear and anger overtaking her as attempt after attempt ends in failure.

Buccino is very similar to her stepfather, the person she calls Dad.

Charles H. Johnson is a former Vietnam platoon leader who 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.

But because of his MS, he can’t navigate computers well, Buccino told Patch. She got involved because “Veterans Affairs directs him to the state phone lines, which direct him back to the internet.”

Buccino was able to get an appointment for her mother but has had no luck securing one for her dad.

“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.”

In the meantime, Buccino keeps trying. She also organized a petition because she didn’t know what else to do. She hopes it will help others champion for senior citizens who are being left behind by the technology involved in the sign-up process.

“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.

Read the full story by Russ Crespolini for Parsippany Patch
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A massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill took a step forward in the early-morning hours of Friday after the Senate approved a measure that would let Democrats muscle President Joe Biden’s plan through the chamber without Republican support.

In the chair was Vice President Kamala Harris, who cast her first tie-breaking vote in favor of the measure.

The action came after a grueling all-night session in which senators voted on amendments that could define the specifics of the eventual COVID-19 aid bill.

The budget now returns to the House, where it will likely be approved again Friday to reflect the changes made by the Senate. Final passage will unlock the next phase in drafting of the virus relief bill, with the work divided among several congressional committees.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called passage of the resolution the “first big step to putting our country back on the road to recovery.”

Senate OKs Fast Track Of COVID Aid; Harris Casts Tie-Breaker Vote

Meanwhile, tensions are elevated in some parts of the country as cities, states, and school districts struggle amongst themselves to decide just when and how to pull back virus-related restrictions.

School districts in both New York and New Jersey are locked in battles over reopening classrooms, with several districts in both states either headed to court or already there over the issue, according to a Politico report.

In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday grew frustrated over the lack of a deal to resume in-person learning at city public schools, sending a message to a defiant teachers union: “Time’s up.”

“My patience with delays from the CTU leadership is over,” Lightfoot said during a morning news conference. She heaped blame on Chicago Teachers Union leaders for stalemated talks standing in the way of allowing parents the option of sending kids back to classrooms.

While CTU and CPS have agreed on many safety protocol issues, the negotiations remain stalled over teacher vaccinations, allowing teachers living with people who have pre-existing conditions to teach remotely, and establishing coronavirus metrics that determine when in-person learning would be permitted.

And in California, San Francisco city officials filed a lawsuit against their own school district Wednesday as other Bay Area counties unveil plans aimed at restarting in-person instruction.

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The tensions haven’t stopped at reopening schools.

In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday clapped back at the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature by issuing a new statewide mask mandate, just an hour after the Legislature voted to repeal Evers’ previous mandate.

in a video message, Evers said his priority is keeping people safe and that wearing a mask is the most basic way to do that, according to The Associated Press.

“If the Legislature keeps playing politics and we don’t keep wearing masks, we’re going to see more preventable deaths, and it’s going to take even longer to get our state and our economy back on track,” Evers said.

The battles over best interests come as United States coronavirus deaths topped 455,000 on Thursday and cases have surpassed 26.7 million. The country also recorded a new record of deaths reported in a single day — 5,227 on Thursday, according to a Washington Post database. The new total far exceeded the former record of 4,440 set on Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, the rate of those receiving vaccinations in the United States is accelerating, and the number of people who have received at least one shot is now higher than the total number of reported U.S. infections. At least 35.2 million Americans have received one or both of the coronavirus vaccine doses, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Biden administration on Friday announced it plans to send 1,100 active-duty troops to five federal Covid-19 vaccination centers across the country, The New York Times report, an effort to take better control of a chaotic and mostly state-led effort to administer the vaccines.

The sites, and the use of the military within them, would require the approval of state governments, not all of which are open to the idea.

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Pandemic adviser Andy Slavitt on Friday said troops would arrive in California within 10 days, to begin operating around Feb. 15. Other assignments will be announced soon.

Also, a third vaccine could soon join the fight against coronavirus in the United States.

Johnson & Johnson on Thursday submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration seeking emergency authorization for its one-dose coronavirus vaccine, according to a New York Times report. This puts the company on track to potentially begin shipping it by early March.

The agency has scheduled a meeting with its outside advisory panel, which is to vote Feb. 26 on whether the FDA should authorize the vaccine, sources told The Times.

Finally, the weekend is here, bringing with it one of the year’s biggest sporting events. In preparation, health experts are again warning against holding large gatherings.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said that when it comes to Super Bowl parties during the pandemic, people should “just lay low and cool it,” according to an Associated Press report.

He said during TV interviews Wednesday that now isn’t the time to invite people over for watch parties, because of the possibility that they’re infected with the coronavirus and could sicken others.