TurboVax, A Popular Coronavirus Vaccine Finder, Blocked By NYC

NEW YORK CITY — A popular site that helped untold New Yorkers score hard-to-get COVID-19 vaccine shots could be gone forever.

TurboVax went down Friday morning after the city’s cyber defenses effectively blocked it, the site’s founder tweeted.

The site used a “bot” to automatically give real-time updates on when and where coronavirus vaccine appointments were available. But as of Friday, the city threw up new bot defenses that cut if off.

“This time I would not be surprised if it doesn’t come back online,” the TurboVax stated. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

TurboVax became an invaluable tool for New Yorkers looking to snag at-times hard-to-find coronavirus shots.

Its creator and founder Huge Ma became a local hero after he spent $50 — according to the New York Times — to create an easier site than the official options.

While the city and state maintain relatively comprehensive vaccine finders, TurboVax upped the game by offering a one-stop shop with constant updates and detailed information on availability.

Ma recently received thanks from mayoral candidate Andrew Yang in a splashy news conference this week, the New York Daily News reported.

But as TurboVax’s Twitter account — presumably penned by Ma — pointed out, the very reason the site went up could be going away.

Appointment drops are becoming more predictable and it appears the city’s vaccine supply is nearly enough to cover everyone, it stated.

“TLDR; bots are struggling but we might not miss them with more supply and predictability,” the tweet stated.

New Yorkers flooded the tweet with thanks for the site’s help scoring shots.

This story will be updated if and when TurboVax’s functionality returns.

The city’s vaccine finder can be found here and the state’s here.

More information on the vaccination sign-up process can be found here.