New Delhi, Sep 1 (FN Agency) Google will help navigate people to search vaccine availability and book appointments at over 13,000 locations across the country starting this week, union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya informed on Wednesday. The minister said that the initiative has been taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in partnership with the search engine giant. “The @MoHFW_INDIA has taken yet another significant initiative to enhance access to #COVID19 vaccine. Search ‘covid vaccine near me’ on Google, Check availability of slots & more, Use ‘Book Appointment’ feature to book a slot,” the minister posted on Twitter.
In a statement issued, Google said that people will be able to get more helpful information about vaccine availability and appointments of doses via the search engine from this week. For this, the company is using real-time data from the CoWIN application. “Starting this week, for over 13,000 locations across the country, people will be able to get more helpful information about vaccine availability and appointments — powered by real-time data from the CoWIN APIs.
This includes information such as: Availability of appointment slots at each center; Vaccines and doses offered (Dose 1 or Dose 2); Expectations for pricing (Paid or Free); Link to the CoWIN website for booking,” Hema Budaraju, Director, Google Search, said. Budaraju also said the information regarding vaccination continue to evolve as more and more people look to get vaccinated, adding that Google will help such people by providing authentic inputs. “Nationwide vaccination drives are in full swing, and as more people look to get vaccinated, their requirements for information continue to evolve: finding vaccine availability by location, specific information about vaccination services offered, and details on appointment availability are increasingly important to know,” she said.