Apple Maps now shows the COVID-19 vaccination locations

Apple today announced that Apple Maps has been updated with vaccine locations from VaccineFinder, a website run by Boston Children’s Hospital that provides information on vaccine eligibility and availability. People can search for nearby vaccination locations on Apple Maps or ask Siri, “Where can I get a COVID vaccination?” More than 20,000 locations are now listed, with more to be added in the coming weeks.

Image: Apple

Each list of vaccine sites on Apple Maps includes the opening hours and contact information for the site, with a link to the provider’s website to find the availability of the vaccine and make an appointment.

With the new feature, Apple joins a number of other technology companies that offer more ways for people to check their eligibility, locate vaccination locations, and schedule vaccination appointments.

Facebook announced yesterday that it will add information from VaccineFinder to its COVID Information Center, showing people when and where they can be vaccinated and providing links to book appointments. The COVID Information Center will also be expanded to Instagram, and the company is working on expanding WhatsApp chatbots from the government and health authorities to help people register for vaccines.

Google is also offering more ways to find vaccination information. The company announced today that people can use commercial messages on Google Maps and Google search to contact local pharmacies from Albertsons companies – including Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Albertsons, Acme, Shaw’s and Tom Thumb – with questions about vaccine eligibility, availability and scheduling appointments.

The United States federal government is ready to launch its own vaccine search website by May 1 and said that all adults in the United States will be eligible for a vaccine at that time. So far, about 28 percent of adults in the United States have received their first dose of vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.