Google will add Covid-19 vaccination locations to its Maps and Search apps, the technology giant has announced.
CEO Sundar Pichai said Google would also provide $150 million to “promote vaccine education and equitable distribution”, while also opening up its own sites to serve as vaccination spots.
The development and early stage distribution of multiple safe vaccines has seen searches for ‘vaccines near me’ increase five-fold since the beginning of the year, according to Google search data.
In order to highlight authoritative information, Google will begin adding the official vaccination sites to its Maps and Search “in the coming weeks”.
The initiative will begin with Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas before rolling out to more US states and countries, though no set timeframe has been announced yet.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has deeply affected every community all over the world. It’s also inspired coordination between public and private sectors, and across international borders, on a remarkable scale,” Mr Pichai wrote in a blog post outlining…
