Vaccine mass finder5/2/2023 ![]() The bots have met resistance in some communities. “These are people who just want to know they’re on a list somewhere and they are going to be helped,” Hsu said. Now he and other volunteers have set a broader mission of assisting others locked out of New Jersey’s confusing online appointment system. The creator of the bot, software engineer Kenneth Hsu, said his original motivation was to help get an appointment for his own parents-in-law. “He’s also physically disabled, and has arthritis, so it’s tough for him to find an appointment online.” ![]() ![]() “He’s not really tech-savvy,” Shover said of his father in an interview. “THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I GOT MY DAD AN APPOINTMENT! THANK YOU SO MUCH!” tweeted Benjamin Shover, of Stratford, New Jersey, after securing a March 3 appointment for his 70-year-old father with the help of an alert from Twitter account success came a month after signing up for New Jersey’s state online vaccine registry. So far, there’s little evidence scalper bots are taking appointments. The bots are often overseen by humans, who then post alerts of the openings using Twitter or text notifications.Ī second type that’s more worrisome to health officials are “scalper” bots that could automatically book appointments, potentially to offer them up for sale. The most notable bots scan vaccine provider websites to detect changes, which could mean a clinic is adding new appointments. When a coveted opening does appear, many find it can vanish midway through the booking. Weeks after the rollout began, demand for vaccines continues to outweigh supply, complicating the search even for eligible people as they refresh appointment sites to score a slot. Though the situations vary by state, people often have to check multiple provider sites for available appointments. "I want to still help as much as I can."ĭevelopment of the new site started after the launch of Phase 2 of the state's vaccination program, when the state was flooded with complaints about its vaccination scheduling website.Bots - basically autonomous programs on the web - have emerged amid widespread frustration with the online world of vaccine appointments. "I don't want to say, 'Oh, well, the state has it, so I'm going to be hands-off,'" Adams said. Charlie Baker's attention, and she does not plan on taking it down. The state's new tool looks a lot like the one Olivia Adams, a software developer and mother of two young kids, built on her own.Īdams met with state officials after NBC10 Boston brought her version to Gov. ![]() More locations will also be added as the tool improves. State health officials said they will be working to add more over the next few weeks. It is not a centralized booking system you still have to click through to the main vaccination site and book an appointment on the individual portals.Īll of the mass vaccination sites are listed, along with some local boards of health and other smaller sites. It shows vaccine sites and appointment availability all on one page, or you can search by city or town. The new tool - is now live, and state health officials said it will make booking vaccine appointments much easier. Following complaints about its vaccine appointment scheduling website, Massachusetts announced that it is launching a new vaccine finder website on Friday. ![]()
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