Locally based SignUpGenius has taken on a critical role as a go-to platform for Covid vaccine-related signups in all 50 states.
SignUpGenius, founded in Charlotte in 2008 by Dan Rutledge, Angel Rutledge and Michael Vadini, is an online application designed for group organization, event planning, and volunteer scheduling and management. Even last year, as the pandemic forced the shutdown of schools, offices, group gatherings and events, customers continued to use the platform to organize virtual learning, socially distanced church events and volunteer work.
The company's support team began receiving vaccination inquiries at the end of last year and since then, the platform has assisted with scheduling efforts for pharmacies, county governments, universities, health-care centers and hospitals in all 50 states, SignUpGenius CEO Mike Barros said.
"We're a multipurpose technology, and so the hospitals and health-care centers we've worked with in the past already knew the solution was there for them," he said. "You've got the sites that need setup, the dose distribution to coordinate and the people who need to receive the vaccine ... We work with the medical staff to get them shifts, individuals signing up for the vaccine and those volunteering to administer it."
Barros said the company, which schedules about 50 million people per year, has helped coordinate 25,000 vaccine-related signups that have impacted more than 2 million people since mid-December.
"We're supporting some major mass vaccination sites through our platform," he said. "We've been scaling up our servers to handle the increased demand, but the ability to do this has always been a part of our core capabilities."
Barros said sign-up traffic is typically at its highest in the fall, as schools resume classes, but it hit an 11-year high this past January and February. Locally, he said, the Wake County Health Department is leveraging SignUpGenius' technology through its website to get community members registered for the vaccine.
"As we look forward, we're ready for folks who are looking to distribute the vaccine in an easy, efficient and equitable manner," he said. "I can't think of a better solution out there with a purpose built for something like this ... That's the beauty of it; we're built for many use cases that are meant to make a difference."
