As the COVID-19 vaccination drive is underway in India, Google is doing its part to make it easier for Indians to find vaccine-related information easily in Search and YouTube. The tech giant is working with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to ensure that users have the most up-to-date information about the two vaccines and also preventing the spread of misinformation about them.
When a query about the COVID vaccine is made in Google Search, users will now see knowledge panels that provide consolidated information about them, including their effectiveness, safety, distribution, side effects, and more. Google has made this information available in English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, and Hindi.
Along with this, the panels will also show answers to commonly asked questions, display real-time statistics around vaccinations completed and provides additional links to the MoHFW website.
On YouTube too, similar knowledge panels have been added next to COVID-related query results. The homepage will also feature FAQ videos and a dedicated banner that will contain links to redirect users to key vaccine resources on the MoHFW website. Over the coming weeks, Google will roll out an update to Search, Maps, and Google Assistant where users can find accurate information about Covid-19 vaccination centers across India.
