Google's new feature will help you find your nearest vaccination centre

Tech giant Google announced in a blog post that it would be making information related to vaccines more easily available by adding it to their Google Search facilities.

Announcing the new updates, Google said in a blog, "Our teams at Google continue to support the tireless work of hospitals, nonprofits, and public health service providers across the country. Right now, we're focused on three priority areas: ensuring people can access the latest and most authoritative information; amplifying vital safety and vaccination messages; and providing financial backing for affected communities, health authorities and other organizations."

Apart from this, Google is also testing a new feature that would let users know about the availability of hospital beds and oxygen cylinders.

"We know that some of the most crucial information people are searching for is the availability of hospital beds and access to medical oxygen. To help them find answers more easily, we're testing a new feature using the Q&A function in Maps that enables people to ask about and share local information on the availability of beds and medical oxygen in select locations. As this will be user-generated content and not provided by authorized sources, it may be required to verify the accuracy and freshness of the information before utilizing it," the blog read.

"You will also find information about prevention, self-care, and treatment under the Prevention and Treatment tab, in easy-to-understand language sourced from authorised medical sources and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare," said the blog post.

Users will be able to see information panels that display the latest updates on vaccine safety, efficacy and side-effects, as well as registration information that directs users to the Co-WIN website. Google also said that it would work to make information available about 23,000 vaccination centres nationwide in English and eight other Indian languages.

The blog post also thanked users of Google Pay for contributing to their COVID-19 aid efforts via COVID aid.