In a blog post, Google CEO Sundar Pichai outlined steps the company would be taking to expanding the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. The company will provide over $150 million in grants to promote vaccine education, mostly through the form of ad grants provided to the World Health Organization, CDC Foundation and nonprofits globally. Google will also begin to offer location data on local vaccination sites and will take steps to battle vaccine misinformation.
This comes days after a group of Democratic senators, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), wrote to Pichai, asking the company, and its subsidiary YouTune, to crack down on vaccine misinformation.
About $50 million of the funds will go to helping public health agencies reach underserved communities with vaccine-related content and information. A recent study compiled by the COVID Collaborative, the NAACP and UnidosUS found that only 14% of Black Americans and 34% of Latino Americans trust that a vaccine will be safe.
Google said it’s focused on expanding distribution to the vaccine to underserved community, as early data shows rural and communities of color aren’t getting access to the vaccine at the same rate as other groups.
In an effort to battle misinformation, Google is also committed to launching a “Get The Facts” initiative across Google and YouTube, in an effort to highlight authoritative information about vaccines. Google will also show state and regional vaccine distribution information which should give users an idea on when they’d be eligible to receive a vaccine.
Google Maps will also start including vaccination locations, initially launching in Texas, Arizona, Mississippi and Louisiana. The search engine will also index whether certain sites require referrals or appointments, as well as other accessibility information.
Google will work with medical providers, including One Medical and public health authorities, to open more vaccination sites on company-owned properties, which are mostly sitting unused after the company moved the majority its workforce to remote.
Google sites will be used for vaccinations in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City and Washington, with plans to expand these efforts nationally.
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