Volunteers Build COVID-19 Vaccine Finder Website

SEATTLE — Dozens of dedicated volunteers have built a new tool Washingtonians can use to find and schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment.

The Washington State Department of Health has made progress in recent weeks ramping up the number of daily vaccinations, but for many in the Evergreen State, the COVID-19 vaccine still remains elusive. Supplies are low and appointments fill up fast, leaving many unsure of when they'll be finally able to get their shot.

Enter the WA COVID Vaccine Finder. It's a new website built by more than 70 volunteers, designed to make finding a shot and setting up an appointment as easy as possible.

As the website explains, the goal is to help vulnerable community members who may not have the spare time to repeatedly check dozens of websites for vaccine availability:

"We believe that as long as COVID-19 vaccine appointment bookings are extremely limited and access to appointments is web-based, members of vulnerable communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 will need special assistance in finding and booking appointments. We cannot possibly solve this problem ourselves, but this site is a contribution we have the power to make, now. We hope WA COVID Vaccine Finder (covidwa.com) helps reduce one barrier to conveniently accessing up-to-date appointment availability."

While the Washington State Department of Health's vaccine website, FindYourPhaseWA.org, can be useful for determining your vaccine eligibility and signing up for alerts, WA COVID Vaccine Finder goes one step further. It shows where vaccine doses are currently available, where they may be available soon, and gives users direct links to schedule appointments at those clinics. It even lets users search by zip code to try and find vaccination appointments in their area.

That must've been something the community needed because, despite being up for less than two weeks, organizers say they're drawing a massive crowd with 6,000 visitors every hour. All said, they say the site has helped more than 435,000 people over the last week.

Learn more about their mission, how you can get involved, or just use their tool to find a vaccination appointment by visiting www.covidwa.com.