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Re:My friend helped vaccinate 16 with a Telegram bot by Closi on Sunday April 18, 2021 @02:21PM (#26854919)
I guess it depends if you think signing up to a telegram bot is a good signal for vaccine allocation.

In reality I assume a low-risk young adult is more likely to use a telegram bot than a tech-illiterate grandma.

Re:My friend helped vaccinate 16 with a Telegram bot by vrde on Sunday April 18, 2021 @03:07PM (#26855337)
Alberto here, I made the bot.

The vaccine situation in Veneto is complex. It's not "first come, first served". There are different cohorts. Right now the only people that are eligible are people over 80 and people with pre-existing health conditions.

Many of them have troubles using the official portal, and they ask their children to help them. Their children are around 50, and have to actively poll the website trying to get a spot.

I didn't build the bot for young, tech savvy people who want to get first in the line. It's exactly the opposite. By smoothing the UX it makes booking the spot for the vaccine accessible, and it removes the burden of constantly check it. It may also help in avoiding wasting doses by sending last minute notifications about new available spots.

I have few emails from people thanking me because they were frustrated by the official website, and the bot helped them to book a spot for their parents.

[edit: add whoami]

Re:My friend helped vaccinate 16 with a Telegram bot by Closi on Sunday April 18, 2021 @04:27PM (#26856004)
I think it’s a cool and fun project so not dissing it! :)

Just thought the title made it sound like 16 extra people had been vaccinated!

Re:My friend helped vaccinate 16 with a Telegram bot by vrde on Sunday April 18, 2021 @05:04PM (#26856346)
I'm glad you gave me the opportunity to clarify the accessibility part more :)