Facebook this week will begin showing its U.S. users information about where and when they can get Covid-19 vaccines, the company announced on Monday.
As part of its Covid-19 Information Center, Facebook will direct users to local health agency websites where they can get information about their eligibility to get vaccinated. The feature will expand globally in the coming weeks.
The company will also provide $120 million in ad credits to health agencies around the world so they can run campaigns about Covid-19 vaccines.
Additionally, the company said that it worked with the World Health Organization to expand its list of false claims related to 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 Facebook’s Covid-19 policies, the company will temporarily require that admins approve all posts within 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. Facebook and Instagram groups, pages and accounts that repeatedly share debunked Covid-19 claims may be removed altogether, the company said.
Facebook said it is also partnering with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to ensure information about the Covid-19 vaccines reach communities where vaccine access 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 the Covid-19 vaccines.
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