Google CEO Sundar Pichai announces $150M investment to create more access to COVID-19 vaccines

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday announced on Twitter that the US-based tech giant is "providing more than $150 million to promote vaccine education and equitable distribution, and making it easier to find locally relevant information, including when and where to get the vaccine."

In a blog post, titled How we’re helping get vaccines to more people, Pichai said that Google had been diligent in getting people the information they needed to keep their families safe and healthy. It has even partnered with rivals, including Apple, to build exposure notification technology to fight the spread of COVID-19 around the world.

This latest move is part of Google's continuing efforts to help health authorities accelerate vaccination efforts, including opening up Google spaces to serve as vaccination sites. 

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The $150 million would serve to promote vaccine education and equitable access for all. This includes $100 million in ad grants for the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Foundation, the World Health Organisation, and non-profits around the globe.

The additional $50 million would be channelled into partnership with public health agencies that worked with underserved communities with vaccine-related content and information.

Google has helped more than 100 government agencies and global non-governmental organisations run critical public service health announcements since the COVID-19 outbreak through its Ad Grants Crisis Relief programme. 

It has also expanded its information panels on 'Search' to over 40 countries in multiple languages, and the week ahead would see this effort rolling out to new geographies.

Last week, Seattle-based ecommerce company Amazon also said it will be offering its colossal operations network and advanced technologies to assist US President Joe Biden in his vow to get 100 million COVID-19 vaccinations to Americans in his first 100 days in office.

"We are prepared to leverage our operations, information technology, and communications capabilities and expertise to assist your administration's vaccination efforts," wrote Dave Clark, CEO of Amazon's Worldwide Consumer division, in a letter to Joe Biden.