Google Maps and Search will show coronavirus vaccination points

INTERNET giant Google has announced that Google Maps will show coronavirus vaccination points.

This responds to a sharp increase in user interest, as searches for ‘vaccines near me’ have increased fivefold since the beginning of the year, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, said in a statement. “We want to make sure that we are providing relevant answers at the local level,” he highlighted.

Therefore, “in the coming weeks”, COVID-19 vaccination locations will be available on Google Search and Google Maps, starting with Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, “with more states and countries to come.” “We will include details such as whether an appointment or referral is required, if access is limited to specific groups or if you have a shuttle service,” Pichai stressed.

To collect information on the location of vaccines and make it available to users, they are working with VaccineFinder.org, an initiative launched by Boston Children’s Hospital, and “other authorized sources” such as government agencies and pharmacies.

“To help find accurate and timely information about vaccines, we have expanded our information panels in Search to more than 40 countries and in dozens of languages, with more to be rolled out over the next week,” adds Pichai, explaining that they will display information regarding state and regional distribution on Google Search so that people can easily find “when they are eligible to get a vaccine.”

In addition, the company is launching the ‘Get the Facts’ initiative on Google and YouTube to bring “reliable information on vaccines” to the public.

The pandemic, Pichai says, “has wreaked havoc in communities around the world.” “While there is still a lot of uncertainty ahead, the development of multiple safe vaccines in such a short time gives reason for hope. Now the work begins to ensure that everyone can benefit from this triumph of scientific achievement, and quickly,” says the CEO of Google.

This measure is part of a larger plan that the company has put in place to help at this very delicate moment of the coronavirus health crisis: “Today we announce that we are providing more than 150 million dollars to promote education and equitable distribution of vaccines and facilitate the search for relevant local information, including when and where to obtain the vaccine. We will also open Google spaces to serve as vaccination sites where needed. ”

“Bringing vaccines to billions of people will not be easy, but it is one of the most important problems we will solve in our lives. Google will continue to provide assistance in any way we can,” concludes Pichai.

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