Looking for a place to get a flu shot?

A new Google tool…

Have you decided you want to get a flu shot (either regular or H1N1), but don’t know where to go? The CDC has set up a site intended to help, though it’s not as easy to navigate as one might hope. That site is here: flu.gov/individualfamily/vaccination/locator.html. Here’s an alternative:Another brand new tool has been made available by Google. Yes, I know Google is taking over the world, but that’s a topic for another blog. Right now if you’ve decided to get a shot (that too is a topic for another blog) here’s a way to easily find a location, should they ever get any supply:

Google has created a flu shot locater map that makes it easy (when supply becomes available) to find a location in your area. It shows locations offering both H1N1 and regular flu shots. It’s quite simple to use, and indicates both locations and if they have any in stock. The URL is google.com/flushot.According to the company, users can now visit Google’s new flu shot Google Maps page to find out if there is any vaccine available in their area. It partnered with “the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, their Flu.gov collaborators, and the American Lung Association on the flu shot finder,” the company wrote in a blog post.

Google says they are currently working with the Centers for Disease Control, state and local health agencies, and other organization to add more vaccination locations to its maps. So far, it has received “data for locations of flu vaccine directly from 20 states and counting.” Texas does not appear to be one of them.

To expand its coverage, Google is also working with chain pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS to add more vaccination-availability information for all 50 states. And here in Texas those two pharmacies are the only sites currently shown on the Dallas map above.

Do you plan to get either flu shot? Regardless, here’s wishing you a safe and healthy flu season.

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