Vaccinate The States

• Relevant Skills: Volunteer Training and Team Leadership, Data Aggregation & Validation, API Integration, Stakeholder Coordination

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination site data was fragmented, outdated, or inaccessible. Major pharmacies like Safeway and CVS lacked centralized information on vaccine types, availability, and eligibility. To address this gap, I joined Vaccinate The States , a volunteer-led nonprofit that aimed to build and maintain the largest nationwide map of vaccination sites, empowering millions to access vaccines quickly and safely.

Goals

Our goals were to:

• Aggregate and maintain accurate vaccine site data across California, then nationwide (75,000+ sites)
• Train and organize a large volunteer base for phone-banking and web-banking operations
• Partner with public health agencies to improve vaccine data transparency and accesibility
• Transition from a California-focused effort (VaccinateCA) to a nationwide system with county-level data

Design and Execution

• Data Collection:
  • Began as a phone banker, calling hundreds of vaccine providers daily to log real-time availability into SQL databases
  • Promoted to Phone-Banking Captain, training 350+ volunteers in standardized data entry, site calls, and reporting
  • Transitioned to web banking, developing scrapers with the engineering team and collating data for 3,000+ U.S. counties
• Technology & Automation:
  • Streamlined data analysis by integrating Discord API to reduce repetitive manual tasks
  • Helped implement a county-level collation system for structured site tracking nationwide
• Leadership & Collaboration:
  • Led volunteer teams as both a phone and web banking captain, balancing training, data validation, and efficient communication
  • Interfaced with Marin County Health Department, convincing them to restore daily vaccine site updates to improve accessibility for non-technical residents
• Scaling Nationwide:
  • Expanded operations from 1 state to all 50 states, mapping 75,000+ vaccine sites in real time
  • Maintained the most comprehensive nationwide map of COVID-19 vaccine sites

Outcome

• Built and maintained the largest vaccine site database in the U.S., covering 75,000+ locations during peak of the pandemic
• Contributed to Marin County achieving one of the nation’s highest vaccination rates through improved public data reporting
• Enabled millions of Americans to find accurate vaccination information during a global pandemic

For a deeper dive into the origins and impact of this effort, read the CEO’s article: The Story of VaccinateCA.