Google Maps, Search will soon show Covid-19 vaccine locations

Alphabet Inc CEO Sundar Pichai today announced a series of efforts by the company in aiding Covid-19 vaccine distribution in the US. In a blog post, Pichai announced a grant of $150 million for promoting vaccine education and equitable distribution. The Google executive also said that the company would be opening up Google spaces to serve as vaccination sites as needed.

In addition to that, Pichai announced a small yet incredibly important feature that will be available in Google Maps soon. He said that in the coming weeks, Google Search and Maps will start highlighting the Covid-19 vaccine locations starting with Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, with more states and countries to come.

The information that will be highlighted in these two services will include details like whether an appointment or referral is required, if access is limited to specific groups, or if it has a drive-through. The Google CEO said that the company is working with partners like VaccineFinder.org, an initiative of Boston Children's Hospital, and other authoritative sources, such as government agencies and retail pharmacies, to gather vaccination location information and make it available.

In addition to that, the company will soon be introducing “Get The Facts” initiative across Google and YouTube to get authoritative information out to the public about vaccines.