SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – If you’re struggling to find a vaccine appointment, there may be hope for you. Online bots are becoming increasingly popular and they’ll send out notifications when openings become available in real-time.
Some people have spent weeks constantly refreshing websites from pharmacies and doctor’s offices with little or no openings. Since there’s no centralized vaccine appointment system, you have to check with individual companies or providers to check their availability.
Multiple online bots have been created to do all of that work for you.
Andrew Friedman is the brains behind findmyvaxla.com
“it took about a week to get the first version out and I’ve continued to improve it since,” said Friedman.
Instead of having to manually check multiple sites yourself, the bot shows you what’s available all on one page.
In San Diego, the account @CovaxSD has more than 8,000 followers and it was just created this month. You can also follow @VaxSpotter and @CovidVaccineSD and @VaccineCA.
While it’s a great option if you’re tech-savvy, it presents an equity issue for the 19 million Americans who don’t have internet access. So, Friedman is working to fix that too.
“It’s really been unfortunate, the struggles these communities have faced,” said Friedman. “I’m reaching out to non-profits trying to get this in the hands of groups that can facilitate that.”
“I’m not getting paid for this. I’m doing this on my own time,” said Friedman. “Just trying to play a part in helping everyone get vaccinated.”