Mumbai: Two youngsters, Abhishek Gharat and Prathamesh Gharat, have started a free tool Automatic Vaccination Slot Availability Checker (AutoVacSac), that searches, filters and alerts people about available Covid-19 vaccination slots anywhere in India.
This browser-based tool uses the application programming interface (API) of the Co-WIN portal and gives an alarm notification of open slots automatically on the computer or smartphone of the user.
AutoVacSac notifies people with an alarm sound whenever there is an available vaccination slot. The tool provides information about the name of the vaccination centre, pincode and number of slots available. People can then pick the pincode and book a slot using the Co-WIN portal or Aarogya Setu app.
Abhishek Gharat, 27, an Information Technology (IT) engineer, said, "The tool automatically searches the slot for you based on the details and filters added. This saves time lost in searching for slots online manually. The alarm sound alerts you in case you are not in front of your computer screen or near your smartphone."
The tool narrows down the search for slots using the first four digits instead of the entire six digit area pincode. Abhishek said, "Instead of adding an entire pincode, users can add just four digits for example 4000 for Mumbai district and get notified about open vaccination slots at nearest centres. People can also add other filters such as vaccine dose 1 or dose 2, age group, type and cost of vaccination."
Prathamesh Gharat, 31, who developed the technical aspects of AutoVacSac said, "We created the tool so that people do not have to manually search for slots but can be notified automatically. Also, the tool is free for all and there is no user data collection."
This tool has helped people to book a slot as it is fast and gives a quick notification. Kashish Paryani, a 24-year-old resident of Jaipur, said, "I was unable to book a slot for a week because slots were getting booked within two to three seconds. But when I used the AutoVacSac tool for few days, I got immediate notifications and was able to book a slot through the Co-WIN app."
Priyank Chandgadhiya, a 26-year-old resident of Vasai said, "I used the pincode feature and managed to book a slot using the AutoVacSac tool for my parents who are above 45 years. The tool notified me about available centres near my residence rather than the entire Palghar district."
With over 3,700 users as of May 24, the AutoVacSac tool can be accessed at kraftpixel.com/autovacsac or the app can be downloaded from Google Play Store at kpxl.in/autovacsac-android.
