Users at the centre of new vaxx.nz site
A group of AUT alumni is behind the Vaxx.nz vaccine information site, helping people identify available vaccine slots close to them before booking through the official government website bookmyvaccine.nz.
Since launching on Sunday 5 September the site has had 44,000 users nationwide, and feedback from many people saying they've been able to bring forward their vaccination date - sometimes to the same day.
"We saw a way to make it easier to find vaccinations,' says Walter Lim, a product designer who graduated from AUT with a Bachelor of Creative Technologies in 2016. Walter got together with a group of friends, and they shipped the first version of Vaxx.nz in a few days.
The government site only allows users to search one location at a time. Vaxx.nz turns that around, and searches all locations closest to the user's location. This allows people to check multiple sites at once, and find the location and time that best suits them. It then directs them to the official bookmyvaccine.nz site to book their Covid-19 vaccination.
"We've been overwhelmed by the feedback and really glad we've been able to help people get vaccinated faster," says Walter.
The team behind Vaxx.nz is Walter Lim, Ilia Sidorenko, Minh Phu Lai (AUT Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences alumni), Molly Derecourt (AUT Bachelor of Design alumna), Olaf Wrieden (AUT Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences and Bachelor of Business in Management alumni), Jackson Lawrence, Matt Weston and William Seagar.