Google announced on Thursday, that it will be adding up-to-date information on the COVID-19 vaccine to search results. And it will also help to combat misinformation in regards to the vaccine.
It is going to start with raising authoritative information, towards the top of search. This is starting in the United Kingdom – the first country to administer the vaccine. Google will be surfacing a list of authorized vaccines in your location. It will also show information panels for each individual vaccine. So you can get the most up-to-date information on these vaccines. As more health authorities begin authorizing these vaccines, Google will start introducing this feature in more countries.
Google is also going to be supporting quality information and reporting on vaccines. Meaning that news sites that report on the vaccines will be moved towards the top of search too. But not just any news site, ones that have quality reporting. Meaning that sites like Brietbart likely won’t be at the top of search.
These information panels will also be added to YouTube, likely on any video that mentions COVID-19. Which, Google says have been viewed over 400 billion times already, which is pretty astounding.
Why is this important?
There is a lot of misinformation out there right now, on COVID-19 and now with the vaccines that are being approved. And since the majority of people get their news on the internet, it’s important that Google and other tech giants work to combat this misinformation so that they are protected from this virus.
Google has launched quite a few products since the pandemic began earlier this year. To help slow the curve, contact tracing and even providing accurate up-to-date information on the virus. So that people can make the right decision on what to do. So this should come as no surprise to anyone.