COVID-19: Twitter launches fact box on user's timelines to fuel COVID-19 vaccinations

Twitter has added a fact box on users’ timeline that displays relevant information about vaccination, a move that marks a significant effort by the social media giant to fuel up the global inoculation process. The latest feature appears as a giant, unmissable box of information located atop the user’s feed and can be accessed both on the iOS and Android apps. According to Twitter Support, the feature would appear on every user's timeline, latest by the end of this week. 

A tap on the link redirects the user to a new page wherein information about the vaccine is shown. The information is broken into several sections, into details on vaccine efficacy, potential side effects, advice for pregnant people, and more. The data provided here is curated from global organisations including the World Health Organisation (WHO), Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) amongst others.  

Vaccination across the world

As per the latest tally by Bloomberg, more than 104 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across 172 countries. The latest rate 19.2 million doses a day. The US has the highest vaccination rate, with roughly 231 million doses administered so far.

However, the data also highlights that the vaccination has been lopsided. Countries with the highest incomes are getting vaccinated about 25 times faster than those with the lowest. In contrast to the US, only 13.8 per cent of global vaccines were administered in India. 

Meanwhile, Twitter also announced that it will open its first African office in Ghana as the company seeks to dive into some of the world’s fastest-developing markets. Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter’s head of product in a statement on Monday announced the company’s future plans and expansion of business in Africa and called the effort an “exciting” part of the tech giant’s growth strategy. He also said the move is to make people feel more comfortable across the globe participate in public conversation.

Image Credits: Associated Press