Alexa Can Now Help People Find the Nearest COVID-19 Vaccination Site to Get a Shot

All of Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices can now help direct people to the nearest COVID-19 vaccination sites, the company announced on Apr. 20.

Alexa's COVID-19 vaccination sites list

Users can ask Alex where they can get a COVID-19 vaccine and they will immediately hear a list of nearby places to get a shot.

After hearing the list, users can also ask Alexa to call a vaccination site, which Amazon said in a blog post, can help users get information about appointment availability.

Making COVID-19 vaccine appointments by phone is usually easier for older adults or other people who struggle to use online scheduling platforms.

Amazon introduced an Alexa feature that could direct people to COVID-19 testing sites back in February, according to The Verge.

Every adult in the United States is now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine after every state met President Joe Biden's deadline to open up access by Apr. 19.

The Biden administration stated that 90% of people in the United States should have a vaccination site within five miles of their home.

Amazon hosted pop-up vaccine clinics in Seattle and is also working with numerous health officials to vaccinate its front-line workers in numerous states. More than half of adults in the United States have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Amazon's COVID-19 projects

On Feb. 8, Amazon had Alexa help users find COVID-19 testing locations. By asking Alexa where they can get tested for COVID-19, Alexa will list the nearest COVID-19 test locations based on the device's location setting.

Users can also get more information by asking Alexa to call the first testing site in order to confirm the information provided for the location and to schedule an appointment, as highlighted by the About Amazon page.

On Feb. 11, Amazon reported that the COVID-19 testing lab in Kentucky that the company has helped set up, processed more than 1 million tests for front-line employees.

Amazon built the lab in 2020 in response to the pandemic to help ensure the health and safety of front-line employees by giving them with regular, reliable access to testing.

On Feb. 12, Amazon offered up to $80 to front-line employees who got the COVID-19 vaccine. The benefit is on top of the $2.5 billion that the company invested in special bonuses and incentives for its teams globally over the last year, and the $11.5 billion that it invested in COVID-19-related measures overall.

On March 16, Amazon continued to open its Seattle campus Meeting Center for COVID-19 vaccinations.

To date, more than 20,000 shots have been administered through the weekend pop-up clinics staffed by Amazon and community volunteers.

On Apr. 12, Amazon Web Services or AWS distributed $12 million to help fight COVID-19. In the first phase of its Diagnostic Development Initiative, AWS helped 87 organizations in 17 countries ranging from nonprofits and research institutions to startups and massive businesses.

AWS had awarded $8 million to support a range of diagnostic projects, including molecular tests for antigens, antibodies, and nucleic acids.

Other projects are diagnostic imaging, wearables, and data analytics tools that use artificial intelligence and machine learning to help detect the virus

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sieeka Khan