The Charlotte journalist is making extensive efforts to ensure vaccination appointments don鈥檛 go unfilled and doses don鈥檛 go unused.
He has been called 鈥淐harlotte鈥檚 Leading Vaccine Evangelist鈥 and 鈥渢he ultimate vaccine angel.鈥 Others tout the 鈥淛oe Bruno effect鈥 when pharmacies looking to fill vaccination appointments are able to pair people with doses.
鈥淭hank you again for removing barriers and making this a little easier,鈥 wrote one person on Twitter.
Those thanks go to Joe Bruno 鈥14, who is putting his Twitter following and news-gathering skills to work to help connect people with COVID-19 vaccination appointments. With nearly 34,000 followers on Twitter (), Bruno can quickly spread word about appointments available at a pharmacy in Salisbury, a new vaccination location in Gaston County or extra doses available at a Charlotte clinic.
鈥淚鈥檓 just happy to give people a shot at trying to get those shots,鈥 said Bruno, an award-winning journalist with ABC affiliate WSOC in Charlotte. 鈥淭he whole reason I鈥檓 doing this is so we can get back to normal sooner.鈥
Bruno鈥檚 effort started about a month ago when he received some information about open vaccine appointments and tweeted it out. That simple tweet prompted multiple responses from members of a grateful public, some of whom wanted to receive the vaccine but were having difficulty navigating the appointment scheduling process.
鈥淭hat was when it clicked with me how challenging a process this is right now,鈥 Bruno said. 鈥淚t can be so hard to find open appointments.鈥
Bruno has since added collecting and distributing vaccination appointment information to his role as a government and breaking news reporter with WSOC. Nights and weekends, even when he鈥檚 off the clock, he鈥檚 letting people know where they can get a shot. His initial focus was on Mecklenburg County, but he has since expanded his coverage area to include about 20 counties.
His station so viewers have a resource they can use to find shots.
Bruno said he has become a resource for smaller local pharmacies who may not have the marketing resources to promote appointments. Recently, he received a call from a pharmacy that had nine doses that would expire within an hour and wanted help getting the word out. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a little stressful,鈥 Bruno said.
So what are some tips for finding open vaccination appointments? Here are a few from Bruno:
- CVS and Walgreens, two national pharmacies that are providing vaccinations at their locations, have been uploading a lot of new appointment slots on weekend mornings, so that鈥檚 a good time to check.
- Check with your local pharmacy. They may not have the resources to advertise, but many are holding vaccination clinics.
- If you are able to secure an 鈥渆xtra鈥 dose at the end of the day from a clinic that had unfilled appointments, make sure you are guaranteed to have an appointment for your second dose.
- Don’t cancel a scheduled appointment for a second dose unless you have a replacement appointment lined up. It can be very difficult to schedule second-dose appointments.
- Be willing to travel. Bruno said that demand is outpacing supply right now in many areas, but that鈥檚 not the case in some areas of the state.