ATLANTA — The battle to book a coveted COVID-19 vaccine spot has been frustrating for thousands, especially for some seniors who struggle with technology.
That's why an Atlanta man decided to find a better way to help those most vulnerable.
Like many across the country, Atlanta local Ben Warlick explained he was desperate to get his parents vaccinated once the coronavirus vaccine came out. But with short supply and high demand, Warlick said the process was beyond frustrating.
"I started looking around on the websites, and Fulton said, 'we expect to have appointments soon – just check back., So, I just kept checking back and checking back," explained Warlick.
That's when the tech creator decided to build his own text messaging service using public data from county health departments. The service, VAX, checks various websites every few minutes for vaccine appointment updates and then notifies a subscriber when something has been posted.
Users text the word, "VAX" to 844-554-4024, and then they will receive a reply text message asking which county that they're located in. Once the user has submitted those details, they are subscribed to the service.
The free service caters to residents in Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb, Doulas, Gwinnett, Rockdale and Newton counties. The VAX text messaging service currently has 23,000 subscribers.