Are you looking for the nearest pharmacy offering up COVID-19 vaccines in your neighbourhood?
Thanks to a Canadian engineer, thereB次元官网网址檚 no need to look far. Zain Manji, a tennis player and co-founder of technology firm Lazer, created a texting service that allows British Columbians to look up their nearest pharmacy with just their postal code.
B次元官网网址淚 came across a tweet from someone in the U.S. who was talking about an app or a phone number that the White House created where you can text that phone number and get the three closest vaccination sites for you,B次元官网网址� Manji told Black Press Media by phone Tuesday (May 4) morning.
B次元官网网址淎nd I just kind of asked myself, Oh, is this in Canada? Or is this Ontario? And then we realized it wasnB次元官网网址檛.B次元官网网址�
He and Lazer co-founder Ashish Yelekar realized it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 take long to build such an app B次元官网网址� just one to two hours. And so the idea was born.
B次元官网网址淪o we just built it and which is also with the hopes that someone would use it and hopefully find a vaccine appointment,B次元官网网址� Manji said.
And itB次元官网网址檚 been a success, both in Ontario where it was first launched and now in B.C.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e gotten a bunch of messages so far, across both provinces, actually, where people have been able to book an appointment because of the tool and also be able to join a waitlist that they didnB次元官网网址檛 know that they could join, because of the tool.B次元官网网址�
While the ease with which Manji and Yelekar created the app raises questions as to why it didnB次元官网网址檛 exist before B次元官网网址� Manji said thatB次元官网网址漢onestly, itB次元官网网址檚 a super simple app. ItB次元官网网址檚 literally like less than 100 lines of codeB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� the engineer is just glad itB次元官网网址檚 helping Canadians get vaccinated.
British Columbia! 馃嚚馃嚘
B次元官网网址� Zain Manji (@ZainManji)
Try texting +1 (833) 356-1683 with your postal code, you'll get an instant reply with nearby vaccination sites 馃拤
Over 85,000 people in Ontario have already texted the phone number and found vaccine locations, and now you can too 鉂わ笍
Spread the word
The app uses publicly available data in B.C., gleaned from the BC Pharmacy Association, but Manji said he would be happy to work with the province to provide more data.
Next on ManjiB次元官网网址檚 list is Alberta, which has seen record high COVID cases in recent days.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e hoping Alberta can be launched either like today or tomorrow, depending on the outcome of our work today.B次元官网网址�
To find out where your nearest pharmacies providing COVID-19 vaccines are, text 1 (833) 356-1683 with your postal code. Availability will depend on the pharmacy, but people ages 40 and up are able to get the AstraZeneca vaccine at participating locations all across B.C., while people ages 30 and up can get it in some COVID hot spots.
Hi! Have you heard that you can text your postal code to 1-833-356-1683 and get your nearest pharmacy thatB次元官网网址檚 doling out vaccines in B.C? I spoke to creator about it, and hereB次元官网网址檚 how it works:
B次元官网网址� Kat Slepian (@katslepian)
Whether youB次元官网网址檝e gotten your first dose at a pharmacy or through the age-based system, the B.C. government is asking everyone to register at .
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