Google has decided to make the process of booking a COVID-19 vaccination slot easier in India. Announced at this year’s Google For India virtual event today, users will soon be able to book vaccination slots with the help of a Google Assistant-guided flow. It will allow users to go through the booking process in a language they are comfortable with.
Google Assistant-Enabled Vaccination Booking in India
This new functionality will let people book COVID-19 vaccination slots in English and 8 local Indian languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu.
Google, in its official blog post, notes that this vaccine slot booking process will empower users “with access to information and healthcare that would otherwise have been out of reach – a telling example of how technology can bridge gaps in access, and make a tangible difference in people’s lives.”
Starting early 2022, people looking to book a vaccination slot via Google Search will get an option to take Google Assistant’s help for this task. For the booking process, Google has collaborated with the Indian Government’s CoWIN platform, which was introduced earlier this year for people to easily book vaccination slots in India.
How to Book COVID-19 Vaccination with Google Assistant
Users will be required to follow a few simple steps to start the Google Assistant-guided vaccine slot booking process. Here’s how it works:
- Head to Google Search and look for COVID-19 vaccine.
- In a featured snippet, you will get options to either head to the CoWIN website or “register easily with Google Assistant.”
- When you select the latter option, you will have to choose your preferred language for Assistant guidance.
- Following this, Google Assistant will ask you to enter details such as your Aadhaar number, name, gender, and year of birth.
- After that, you have to enter the area PIN code or district name to look for the nearest vaccination centre.
- Select the date, paid/ free vaccine type, choice of vaccination, time, and its done.
Once the process is complete, you will get a confirmation of the same on your registered mobile number. This new ability is in addition to the various ways one can book a vaccination slot in India. That includes booking from the Aarogya Setu app, CoWIN website, and various third-party options such as HealthifyMe, Paytm, and loads more.
