Corona: Volunteers Offer Help to Get People Vaccinated

A group of volunteers living in Boston, United States, are dedicating some of their time to make appointments for people who want to get a corona vaccine shot but were defeated by the difficult, long and arduous task.

“The volume of the demand and desperation is incredible,” says Diana Rastegayeva, founder of the Massachusetts COVID Vaccination Help. “Our fundamental goal is to provide this service for people who really can’t navigate the system themselves.”

In its first week of activity, the group has landed appointments for 450 people. All volunteers rely on technological know-how and persistence. They even put insomnia to good use. “When someone cancels at 2 a.m., we have insomniac volunteers booking appointments in the middle of the night,” says Rastegayeva. Hundreds of vaccination sites are monitored, and a soon as an opening comes up, the system receives an alert. And to make sure they help those who are most in need, the group uses a points system based on location, age, race, and ethnicity, and prioritizes people from the hardest-hit areas and populations.