‘Vaccine angels’ helping others get COVID-19 vaccine appointments

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PITTSBURGH — Jason Kauffman has a full time job, but late at night, you’ll find him logging online, scouring sites and apps for available COVID-19 appointments.

“I stay up past midnight, so it has been some long hours,” he said. “The main thing with this is we want to get to all our elderly neighbors. They don’t know how to navigate the system.”

Kauffman realizes most older folks don’t have laptops, tablets and smart phones, so he does the work for them. It first started with helping his own family members, and ballooned from there. He’s been able to get appointments for about 50 people so far using a national vaccine availability app.

“We need more kindness in this world. I don’t want anything in return for this. I just want to help make the world a better place,” he said.

While there are many people with a big heart, scammers are also taking advantage of the situation. If someone is offering to help you get a vaccine appointment, never give out bank account information or your social security number.

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