Looking For A COVID Vaccine Slot? Just Google It

New Delhi: Indian users can now get COVID-19 vaccine-related information from Google Search, Google Maps and the Google Voice Assistants. Google announced that it will display COVID-19 vaccination-related information such as vaccine availability, prices and more on Google Search and Google Maps. Users can find the nearest vaccination centre and book a slot.

Starting this week, Google will display information related to the availability of appointment slots at each centre, vaccines and doses offered, expectations for pricing whether they are paid or free, link to the Cowin website for booking, India Today reported.

Here’s what you have to do

• Type “Covid vaccine near me” on Google Search
• Google will then show you a list of hospitals that have COVID-19 vaccine slots.
• Select the one closest to your place.
• Then tap on the “Book appointment” tab to book an appointment for your first or second COVID-19 dose.

Information related to the COVID-19 vaccine will show when users search for vaccine centres near them, or in any specific area — across Google Search, Maps and Google Assistant. Apart from English, users can also search in eight Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, and Marathi. Google will continue to partner closely with the CoWIN team to extend this functionality to all vaccination centres across India, the report added.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a priority within our communities, vaccines remain one of our biggest protections. 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. As people continue to seek information related to the pandemic to manage their lives around it, we remain committed to finding and sharing authoritative and timely information across our platforms,” said Hema Budaraju, Director, Google Search said in a statement.