TurboVax Creator To Be Thanked At Fort Washington Armory

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — When New York first started offering vaccine appointments for COVID-19 to the public, the online system was clunky and difficult to use — especially for older folks who might not be as technologically savvy.

In stepped Huge Ma, an engineer who took matters into his own hands by creating TurboVax, a Twitter bot and website that provides available vaccine appointments from city and state-run administration sites in real-time.

Ma's creation ended up helping tens of thousands of New Yorkers get vaccinated against the coronavirus, with more residents of the five boroughs continuing to use the platform each day.

On Tuesday, mayoral candidate Andrew Yang and Congressman Ritchie Torres will thank Ma at the Fort Washington Armory vaccine site in Upper Manhattan for his "exemplary public service."

"Yang and Torres plan to thank Ma on behalf of millions of New Yorkers for his service to the City and deliver remarks on modernizing government functions to deliver services more quickly and efficiently to New Yorkers," according to a news release.

As of writing, the TurboVax Twitter page has nearly 170,000 followers, and its website sees up to a million views a day.

Ma has also used the TurboVax platform to speak out against the recent spike of attacks against the Asian American community in New York City and across the country.

The Fort Washington Armory first opened its doors in January as the first vaccination site in Manhattan above 136th Street. Two weeks after the opening, the site announced new guidelines that mandated at least 60 percent of appointments made at the Upper Manhattan site would be for eligible residents of Washington Heights, Inwood, Northern and Central Harlem, and the South Bronx.

• COVID-19 Vaccine Site Opens At The Armory In Washington Heights
• Wash Heights Armory Vaccine Site Now Exclusively For Locals

The Fort Washington Armory is located at 216 Fort Washington Avenue in Washington Heights.

You can find the TurboVax Twitter page here.