Google India has partnered with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help the country in the COVID-19 vaccination drive. According to a press release, the technology company has taken several measures to “amplify the science-based narrative around the vaccination drive.” The company is currently working to roll out accurate information about COVID-19 vaccination centres using Google Search, Google Assistant, and Maps. The vaccine drive for vulnerable people has started on Monday, 1 March.
Google also shares trend reports related to the queries about COVID-19 vaccines with the government officials to help them make important decisions about the vaccination drive.
Google Search has introduced the option of knowledge panels right after the first phase of vaccination in India. Details from MoHFW have been compiled to create these panels. Providing information about the two vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) in India, these knowledge panels are available in multiple Indian languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, and Hindi, along with English.
Apart from Google Search, the company has also incorporated information panels on its video platform, YouTube. When a user searches for something related to COVID-19, they can access these panels for credible information. On the homepage, YouTube also features videos from MoHFW to promote their visibility.
The second phase of the vaccination drive aims to immunize 100 million people from the virus. The press release also stated that apart from providing accurate information, Google India has been working with MoHFW’s Rapid Risk Response team to track misinformation and counter it with the science-based narrative around the pandemic and vaccination.
