Computer Science Student At Stanford Creates Twitter Bot To Help Coloradans Get Vaccinated

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - If you're having trouble finding an available COVID-19 vaccine appointment, perhaps a Twitter bot created by a computer science student at Stanford University can help.

David Witten, 20, says he just wanted to help his relatives in Colorado who were having trouble getting vaccine appointments.

"They were telling me it was difficult for them to get vaccinated, and this is my uncle and aunt who both about 65," he told CBS Denver.

Witten began using a program to search and notify them. He quickly realized others might need help, too.

"I sat down and I made a website to allow people to find vaccines in Colorado," he says. "It turned out a website like this already existed and honestly was better than mine. I quickly changed to just making a Twitter bot that would notify users directly."

With the help of a bot, his Twitter account @COVaxAlerts automatically tweets updates when there's a new slot available.

Witten encourages followers to turn on their notifications for the account so they'll learn of new vaccine slots the minute they become available.

"They know the clinic to go to. They know the address. They know the URL immediately when it opens up so they don't have to wait around on a website," he says.

Whitten's Twitter bot caught the attention of Governor Jared Polis, who took to Twitter to urge Coloradans to follow it.

"Thank you to David Witten, who has family age 65+ in Denver/Aurora, and made this Twitter account @COVaxAlerts to help them and others learn about and set up appointments to receive the highly effective and safe vaccine," he tweeted on Feb. 25.

Polis also praised Witten's Twitter bot during a news conference the following day.

"I check this stuff regularly," he said. "@COVaxAlerts. Sign up. It was done by David Witten," he said.

Witten said he started programming in 9th grade and now studies programming at Stanford.

"It's just such a rewarding experience, and I'm really excited to continue working on it," he says.