The CDC has launched a site called VaccineFinder that allows the U.S. public to search nationwide for approved Covid-19 vaccine providers.
On vaccineFinder.org, you can enter an address or ZIP code, select a search radius, and get a list of providers. Each provider listing will include contact information, eligibility criteria, and, when available, a link to a location. Today, most links simply go to the website of the organization, and require the user to continue to traverse more searches. But ultimately the site should allow you to see each location, and whether each provider has doses available for each type of vaccine.
The initial release is limited, which will include inventory data from 29,000 providers to start, roughly a quarter of the national total. Upon entering the site, users get a “pop-up” message saying that information is limited to Alaska, Tennessee, Indiana, and Iowa.
According to Statnews.com, the decision to limit the initial rollout of the tool comes on the heels of several high-profile failures of state sites to enable vaccine location and scheduling, tools that couldn’t manage the crush of millions of people trying to find vaccine information at once.
VaccineFinder is an answer to scattered and siloed systems that have made it difficult for many to find timely, accurate information about where and when they can get a shot.
What the public sees about vaccine availability isn’t necessarily the same information the CDC receives. Providers are required to enter the number of doses on hand, but also report a public-facing statement of whether they’re in stock on a given day. A provider has the option to tell the public they are out of stock while still reporting the correct numbers to the CDC.
For months leading up to the launch, the site has displayed a simple banner letting people know what’s coming: “VaccineFinder will be updated once Covid-19 vaccination is widely available to the public to help direct people to find a vaccine provider near them.” That time, arguably, has not yet come; most states are still only offering vaccines to those over 75. But as of Feb. 24, 13% of the U.S. population had received one or both shots. Now is the moment to help the rest of them map a route to their destination.
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The new site is a good start, but is still missing the ability to directly schedule appointments at the various locations. Currently, many of the links to the individual locations are just landing pages that require additional work. And, the inventory information is often incorrect. As the site gets more mature, this should improve.
However, as we noted in a previous post, “COVID-19 Vaccination Appointment Scheduling: How Reserve with Google Can Make it Better,” we propose that Reserve with Google or a similar system become the single “user interface” for users to find nearby vaccine appointment sites and schedule an appointment.
Read the full article at Statnews.com
