California Teen Helps Older Adults Get COVID-19 Vaccinations

STOCKTON, CA — A Northern California teenager wants to help older adults in Stockton get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Kevin Manshadi, 13, has set up a GoFundMe campaign for ride-share vouchers so seniors can be taken to and from vaccination sites free of charge, according to a report from WPBF-TV. Kevin told the station he was inspired to help others after seeing what his father, Ramin Manshadi, does to help his grandmother.

“I always saw my father go to my grandmother’s house and treating her, she can’t do many things on her own,” Kevin said in an interview with the station. “If there are other seniors like this, how are they going to go drive themselves to the vaccination centers and get vaccinated?”

As of Wednesday, the GoFundMe campaign had raised more than $9,600 of its $10,000 goal.

To get the transportation vouchers into the hands of older adults Ramin Manshadi said he and his son reached out to local hospitals and San Joaquin County Public Health Services. The idea they came up with was that when someone calls to make a vaccination appointment and needs transportation, they will be sent a round-trip voucher.

Maggie Park, a public health officer with San Joaquin County, told the station she was impressed by Kevin’s ride-share voucher program.

“It’s an idea that we can apply to real life," she said. "It’s really going to help some people, and I believe it will actually save lives.”

Read the rest of WPBF-TV’s story on Kevin Manshadi and his ride-share voucher program on the station’s website.

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