New York Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang and Congressman Ritchie Torres paid tribute to TurboVax founder Huge Ma.
Ma, an engineer, created a simple, free, easy-to-use website that identifies and allows people to sign up for vaccine appointments in real time.
Its site has facilitated the deployment of the vaccine to thousands of New Yorkers.
“I never planned to get involved or get involved in all of this, I’ve always been following my gut,” Ma said. “When I built TurboVax, I just wanted to simplify the vaccination process, that’s all. I never expected it to help tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, get their vaccines by now.”
Torres said it has helped save lives.
“At a cost of just $ 50, in less than two weeks, Huge was able to do what the federal government and what the local and city government couldn’t do with much larger resources,” Torres said.
Ma also uses his growing platform to raise money to combat anti-Asian violence in the city.
RELATED | LIST: There is no pre-vaccination appointment for some New Yorkers in these 25 locations
MORE CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 COVERAGE
New York City COVID-19 Vaccine Follower
New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccine Follower
Find out if you are eligible and where you can get the vaccine
Do you have symptoms of coronavirus?
Where to test in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
SEE: eyewitness to a pandemic
Coronavirus Disease Control and Prevention Centers
Submit a tip or news question
Copyright © 2021 WABC-TV. All rights reserved.