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I don’t know the people I book appointments for. That doesn’t matter.

The whole thing started with my parents. At 69 and 67, they became eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine in Pennsylvania the week of the presidential inauguration. They immediately registered with their local health department and seemed certain that they’d soon get a call. They didn’t realize that the situation in Pennsylvania at the time was a disaster — that millions of people were now eligible and there wasn’t enough supply.

I decided to try to help them, but my efforts were fruitless. It didn’t take too long to realize that trying to book vaccine appointments for my parents was basically turning into a part-time job. I devoted a few hours per day to the task — enough to make me feel like I was seriously