No wasted vaccine
We were both surprised and not surprised that people have found ways to get the vaccine early. Some have simply gotten lucky. Others have lined up for hours, or spent days pharmacy hopping.
Our mission is to reduce COVID vaccine waste, reduce unnecessary lines and crowds at stores, reduce misinformation of leftovers, and allow as many people as possible to take advantage of any leftover doses. All you need is a phone that can text.
In the spirit of coming together to solve this problem, we have joined forces with Dr. B.
Leftovers will happen
So far vaccine waste has been low, but as more providers begin offering it, the amount of potential waste will increase. Why?
Each vial of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines come with 5 and 10 doses, respectively.
The vaccines are kept in extremely cold temperatures. To be used, they must be thawed and prepared. Once thawed or opened, they cannot be refrozen, and opened vials must be used within 6 hours.
The vials often come with extra doses.
People miss appointments.
And of course, there's always the unexpected.
Many have created ad-hoc systems for trying to match the high demand for the small leftover supply, but they are all specific to a single location or provider. A Shaw's in DC uses deli counter numbers. Many pharmacies are simply handing them out to whoever is nearby.
Vaccination Standby (now working with Dr. B) can let you know when a verified provider near you has a leftover dose, while also giving providers access to a list of people ready to be vaccinated.
Design is at our core
We're a small team of designers and engineers who saw an opportunity to make vaccine administration more efficient and equitable.
The service was conceived, designed, and developed by Jimmy Chion and Ian Macartney, both of whom do design and development. Combined, we have four degrees from Stanford, and have worked at places such as The New York Times, Dropbox, and IDEO. With Vaccination Standby, we transfer many values and ideals from our previous workplaces.
On February 14, 2021, Vax Standby and Dr. B joined forces. Jimmy will continue Vax Standby under Dr. B's mission, and Ian will continue his job at Curative, continuing to aid the vaccination effort. You can read more about why we joined forces in our full announcement.