The feature will roll out in the coming weeks, starting in four states: Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Google (GOOGL) announced Monday that searches for “vaccines near me” have increased fivefold since the beginning of the year and is implementing this feature to ensure it “provides locally relevant answers.”
The results, which will also be displayed in search results on designated dashboards, include details on whether an appointment is required, whether the vaccine is only available to certain groups, and whether there is a drive-thru. Google said it is working with “authorized sources” to obtain the information, including local governments and retail pharmacies. Information on vaccine sites will be rolled out to other states and countries later.
Confusion about the vaccine is rampant, with 60% of Americans saying they don’t know when or where to get it, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The availability of vaccines in the United States has also been problematic with President Joe Biden asking for patience to improve implementation soon. Ultimately, your goal is to deliver 100 million doses of the vaccine in your first 100 days in the office.
It is the latest change to Google Maps in relation to the pandemic. In September, the Maps app began showing seven-day averages of new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people.
Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also said Monday that the company is donating $ 100 million in advertising grants to the CDC Foundation, the World Health Organization and other non-profit organizations to run “critical health announcements. public service “about the virus. “We recognize that getting vaccines to people is a complex problem to solve and we are committed to doing our part,” he said.
Certain parts of Google’s facilities, including parking lots and open spaces, in California, New York and Washington will also be open for vaccination efforts and administration. It is the latest corporate conglomerate to help improve vaccine deployment, with Starbucks (SBUX), Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT) offering similar efforts in recent weeks.
