New website aims to help Ohioans find COVID shots
A new website created in Columbus aims to help all Ohioans find a COVID-19 vaccine.
The website, Vaccinateoh.org, launched Friday and compiles information from hospital systems, pharmacies and local health departments in one place for people looking for a vaccine.
Users can find places offering the shots by entering their ZIP codes, which brings up a map with providers nearby. The website then provides an address, phone number and link to a scheduling website for each vaccine provider.
“It needed to be something that made it easier for them to find an appointment and made information more accessible,” said Ayaz Hyder, assistant professor at Ohio State University’s College of Public Health. “We really wanted to make this something by Ohioans, for Ohioans.”
The vaccination website is the creation of volunteers and the group Can’t Stop Columbus, a community organization that addresses problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It comes just as vaccine eligibility opens up to every adult Ohioan on Monday. Every resident age 16 and up will become eligible for a two-dose Pfizer vaccine and everyone 18 and older will be able to get a two-dose Moderna vaccine or a single-shot one from Johnson & Johnson.
The locally developed website is one in a long list of websites that have popped up in the past few months with a goal of making it easier for people to find a COVID-19 vaccine when it’s their turn. The difference is that Vaccinate OH is tailored specifically to Ohio and its variety of shot providers, Hyder said. A group of developers adapted a similar Massachusetts website to pull in data about vaccination openings in Ohio.
Much of the process is automated by computer programming, but Hyder said a group of volunteers is also double-checking and making calls to compile information as needed. Anyone wishing to help can sign up at volunteer cantstopcolumbus.com.
Brad Griffith of New Albany-based website designer Buckeye Interactive led the development effort involving dozens of volunteers.
“(W)e’ve built the most comprehensive, up-to-date list of available vaccine appointments to protect the vulnerable and save lives,” Griffith said in a news release. “I’m so fortunate to be a part of this important work.”
The idea for the centralized website came after Hyder heard from several Ohioans who had a tough time finding an appointment for a vaccine.
While the new website still sends users to individual shot websites to schedule appointments, Hyder said he hopes it will ease the burden on people and make it so they don’t have to jump from place to place to find and schedule a vaccination time slot.
“With this pandemic, there are things coming at us every single day. We can’t just develop something and be like: ‘OK we’re done,’ ” Hyder said. “The needs on the ground are changing every single day and we need to make sure we’re responding.” mfilby@dispatch.com @Maxfilby