Facebook will tell people where to get vaccinated

Facebook this week will start showing US users information about where and when they can receive Covid-19 vaccines, the company announced on Monday.

As part of its Covid-19 Information Center, Facebook will direct users to the websites of local health agencies, where they can obtain information about their eligibility to be vaccinated. The function will expand globally in the coming weeks.

The company will also provide $ 120 million in advertising credits to health agencies around the world so they can run campaigns on Covid-19 vaccines.

In addition, the company said it has worked with the World Health Organization to expand its list of false claims about Covid-19 that Facebook will remove from its services. This includes claims that Covid-19 is man-made, claims that vaccines are not effective and claims that vaccines can cause autism.

For groups that have previously violated Covid-19’s Facebook policies, the company will temporarily require administrators to approve all posts in their groups before they are published. On Instagram, the company will make it harder for people to find accounts that discourage people from getting vaccinated. Groups, pages and Facebook and Instagram accounts that repeatedly share rejected Covid-19 complaints can be completely removed, the company said.

Facebook said it is also partnering with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to ensure that information about Covid-19 vaccines reaches communities where access to vaccines may be lower. This includes Native American, black, and Latinx communities.

The company announced in November its plans to provide users with authoritative information about Covid-19 vaccines.

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