Health
This Website Will Text You When There Are Leftover Covid-19 Vaccines In Your Area
No need to hang around your local drugstore hoping to get lucky.
You may have heard stories about people getting leftover Covid-19 vaccines by waiting near a vaccination site to see if they had any extra. Others might have just happened to be at a pharmacy when workers started checking the aisles to find volunteers rather than let any excess go to waste.
Now, a website called Dr. B is making things easier for both individuals who want the vaccine as soon as possible and providers who don’t want good medicine to get tossed away. For reference, there’s only about a six hour window once the seal of a vaccine has been broken for them to make their way into an arm before they expire. Situations like people missing their scheduled appointments have led to several doses getting unused.
But rather than hanging around your local CVS and hoping to get lucky, you can sign up for Mr. B instead! The website will place you on a waiting list and then alert you if there are any nearby locations hoping to use up leftover shots. After getting an initial text about the available vaccine, you will be given a set amount of time to respond and must be able to quickly make it to the vaccination site (the timing will vary based on the location’s availability).
The website’s founder, Cyrus Massoumi, told USA Today, “You have people who want the vaccines for them or their loved ones, and your vaccine providers want to do the right thing, but they need the appropriate tools to deal with the operational challenges of vaccinating the whole country.”
Over a million people have already signed up to be placed on waiting lists all across the country. The website explains that each individual’s place in line is determined by the eligibility criteria of their state and local government, plus the order in which they completed registration.
As for the second dose needed for Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, individuals who use this service will still be able to make an appointment for those with the provider at the time of their first dose.
Check out Dr. B for more info. Here’s hoping it can help us all reach herd immunity faster and finally get things back to normal!
