Mountain View, California — Google, which has long since introduced different features and tools for web browsing, now has come up with a new application called “Flu Shot Finder”. The California-based Internet giant on Tuesday introduced a novel feature in its Maps Web site that enables U.S. residents find nearby locations for getting vaccinations against seasonal influenza and H1N1 flu shots, the company announced on its blog.
Previously, Google unveiled a site that allowed people to observe current flu-infection conditions in the U.S. and abroad.
Although it looks pretty useful, Google promptly pointed out in the blog post that as yet, the service does not have comprehensive data on all providers because it is still gathering information on flu shots from many locations.
According to the Internet giant, users can now visit Google’s new flu shot Google Maps page to search if there is any vaccine available in their area. The flu-shot finder service went live online at google.com/flushot and will soon be available at flu.gov and websites of the American Lung Association.
“This project is just beginning and we have not yet received information about flu shot clinics for many locations,” Roni Zeiger and Jennifer Haroon of Google said in a blog post.
“Especially given slower than expected vaccine production, we think it is important to bring together flu shot information in a consistent manner.”
Moreover, Google Maps would not inform people whether a particular provider has run out of vaccines, a big issue right now with the H1N1 shot, whose production is not keeping up with demand. Thus, people are advised to call the providers before heading to their location.
World Health Organization have declared H1N1 virus as a global pandemic and have suggested different measures to check the spread of flu. On the flu shot page, users can input their Zip code or town and find all the vaccine available in their area.
Depending on where the user searches, he or she might find several clinics that are out of flu shots. Google said that although some of the service might not feature actionable content now, it believes the time was right to “help circulate information about locations where vaccines are available, and also to make more vaccine providers aware of the project so that they can contribute.”
In October, Google expanded a flu-tracking tool to include 16 more countries, Japan, Russia, and much of Europe are also been included now at Google Flu Trends. The California Internet powerhouse has also made information available online at google.org/flutrends/ available in 37 languages.
Google had already expanded Flu Trends to include Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand since launching the free tool with US data last November.
Flu Trends counts the number of flu-related queries on the Google Internet search engine and provides estimates on influenza outbreaks in respective regions.