KOCHI: When COVID vaccination was opened for people between the 18 and 44 age group, the CoWin website began showing glitches. People complained that the webpage crashed minutes after one logs in, and the slots always showed booked.
Rising to the occasion, Malayali techies have created multiple platforms that notify users when vaccination slots open up in their respective districts. It also helps users avoid frequent sign ins to the CoWin website and OTP authorisation.
"I saw stories about senior citizens waiting in crowds to get vaccinated. Some were even turned down the jab after reaching the vaccination centres due to a shortage of vaccines. I was looking for slots to get my mother vaccinated too, on the CoWin portal. I started researching a solution, and that effort culminated in a platform that helps the common man check vaccine availability accurately," shares Rajeev K Tomy, a former software engineer.
On Rajeev’s website (https://cowin-tracker.vercel.app), users can enter their district code and the date they intend to get vaccinated on, and it will show you the vaccine availability
Solution to bad connectivity
The biggest challenge with a digital registration system is its accessibility in remote locations where internet connectivity is poor. The application (https://jijishthomas.github.io/getVacinneAvailability) enables users to search for vaccination slots without having to generate an OTP every time.
One can choose the state and district and re-enter the webpage every 30 seconds until a vaccine slot becomes available. The user is given an audio alert when a booking opens up. Jijish’s application currently has around 600 real-time users.
COVID Vaccine Notifier
Sharvin K, who works at H&R Block, Technopark has also come up with a platform called Covid Vaccine Notifier (https://covidvaccinenotifier.akiwu.xyz/) that enables users to check for vaccine slots in their districts.