The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a new COVID-19 vaccine tracker that helps Americans see where they can find vaccine stock near them.
What’s going on?
The CDC teamed with Boston Children’s Hospital and Castlight Health to launch the new tracker, which shows inventory data from vaccine providers around the country.
- The tool is simple.
- You visit the website and click “Find COVID-19 vaccines.”
- You will then be prompted to enter your zip code.
- Once you do that, you can set how much distance you want the tool to report on.
- Then, the search begins.
The results appear in a long list of locations, sharing pharmacies and local health department information. There’s also a green checkmark if a location has stock of the vaccine or a gray circle if there’s no vaccine at that location.
Remember ...
- The site reminds viewers that COVID-19 vaccines “are limited and appointments are required at most locations.”
- The website advises people to check with their local health departments before confirming whether or not they can get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Key quote
“The idea is to show where COVID-19 vaccine providers (are) that are open to the public — how to contact them, how to book an appointment, and try to show the daily inventory status so people are clear where there’s vaccine and where there isn’t,” John Brownstein, the founder of VaccineFinder and chief information officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, told NPR.
Anything else?
Most states limited distribution to certain providers since they’re getting the vaccine from the federal government. But Alaska, Indiana, Iowa and Tennessee show all hospitals, clinics and public vaccination sites for people, according to NPR.
- More providers will be in place in the near future.
Bigger picture
The COVID-19 vaccine continues to be distributed throughout the United States. Per Bloomberg, about 66.5 million doses have been given out. There was an average of 1.3 million doses per day last week.