The brains behind a popular COVID-19 tracking website have unmasked themselves — and much to everyone's surprise, it turns out they're a trio of teenage boys.
Key points: The teens revealed their identities after having their first Moderna vaccines
The teens revealed their identities after having their first Moderna vaccines The Melbourne boys say they want to make COVID-19 data more accessible
The Melbourne boys say they want to make COVID-19 data more accessible They say the website is a lot of work but they still get their schoolwork done
The faces behind the data website, CovidBase AU, are Jack, Darcy and Wesley and they chose the day they got their Moderna vaccinations to reveal their identities.
The group said the idea for the website came about after wanting to create a place to simplify the data and present it in an easy-to-understand format.
The website has already become a big favourite of thousands of Australians.
"Darcy's really skilled with coding and I'm sort of really into the news ...and have been really interested in the data. So we've decided to take what we've been doing and sort of create something with it," Jack told ABC News.
Jack (left) Wesley (middle) and Darcy (right) say getting the Moderna vaccine was simple and really easy. ( Supplied: @covidbaseau
The website and its associated social media pages track the number of new cases, vaccination rates, tests taken and the source of infection.
"We've spent a lot of time on it to try and make it as comprehensive as possible," Jack said.
"The government releases data in all sorts of different places and in different formats, so … when Jack was collecting all this data, I helped him put it together and display it on a website so that it's accessible for everyone," Darcy said.
During Melbourne's lockdown, the trio said they had a lot of time to balance the work of the website with school. But Jack admitted times it was "a bit of a juggling act".
The trio had stayed anonymous since the website's inception, but said they always knew they would give away their identities at the perfect time.
It paid off: The big reveal gained the attention of thousands on Twitter and other social media platforms.
A photo of the boys revealing their identities has already been shared 1.5 thousand times on Twitter, where the group of youths have a devout following of 25,000 people.
"It was really cool. We didn't expect it to kind of blow up that fast. But, yeah, the support's been amazing," Wesley said.
During Friday's COVID update, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton acknowledged the teens were not only very clever but now also "first-dose vaccinated teenagers."
It is only recently that 12 to 15-year-olds have become eligible for vaccinations, and the boys said the whole process was "pretty easy".
"[I] haven't had any side effects, none of us [have] and — yeah, we just went down to a pharmacy nearby to us," Jack said.
"I've always been keen to get it since, I suppose, the rollout started. I always knew that I'd be in one of the last groups … but I'm sort of surprised it's been today and this early, so it's been fantastic," he added.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 5 minutes 18 seconds 5 m Families and kids share their lives in lockdown
ThatThereBear on September 25th, 2021 at 16:16 UTC »
The kids are alright
Kayge on September 25th, 2021 at 15:57 UTC »
Very cool, had something similar from my area where federal, provincial and municipal news feeds created a mess.
Some dude sets up a Twitter account that outdoes all the government feeds and becomes the go to for residents.
He also did an amazing job of staying apolitical in the face of some spectacular governmental fuck ups.
rushmc1 on September 25th, 2021 at 14:50 UTC »
Good for them.