Text message system helps Georgians find vaccine

By Collin Kelley

If you’ve been frustrated trying to get an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine, Virginia-Highland resident Ben Warlick has an app for that.

An attorney with an affinity for technology, Warlick created an easy-to-use text message based application to help others in Georgia who are also feeling frustrated. Launched in January, Georgia Vax App already has more than 31,000 users as of Feb. 1.

Although referred to as an “app,” there’s actually nothing to download. Users simply send a text message – such as the word “vaccine” – to 844-554-4024. You’ll receive a reply asking which county you live in and what phase of the vaccine rollout you’re in. If you don’t know, simply type “NA”. When appointments open in your county, you’ll get a text with a link to the appointment site.

Warlick created Georgia Vax App after spending hours trying to book inoculation appointments for his parents and mother-in-law.

“Instead of having to keep checking the vaccination websites every hour, I created a code that would check the sites automatically,” Warlick said. “Within 24 hours, I got a message that an appointment was available and my mother-in-law got an appointment at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.”

After posting the text number for Georgia Vax App on neighborhood social networking site Nextdoor, the service quickly took off. The app launched with Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale counties, but Warlick is working to add more Georgia counties now. He also hopes to add private pharmacies and supermarkets like Publix and Kroger offering vaccines in the coming weeks.

The app is the latest project for Warlick’s tech startup, Disco Droid, after he created the Atlanta Tree App to help people get notifications about tree removal permit applications filed in their neighborhoods.

For more about the Georgia Vax App and Disco Droid, visit discodroid.ai.