Ensuring Ontarians have access to the COVID-19 vaccine is essential to supporting the health and well-being of our communities as the province begins to rebuild.
Geospatial data analyst, Carina Luo, at the University of Windsor, is helping Windsor-Essex residents access the COVID-19 vaccine through the development of an easy-to-use smartphone app using a geographic information system. The app helps residents identify nearby pharmacies administering shots and view detailed information about each location such as a pharmacy’s address, phone number, operating hours and booking information.
The app also provides public health experts with critical data to improve vaccine planning and implementation. This includes demographics such as population density and income. Crucially, this data will help experts identify service gaps and increase some residents’ access to the vaccine.
Luo intends to add additional data to the app to help increase the information available about vaccination rates and the experience of residents in Windsor-Essex.
For more information, visit the University of Windsor.
Read more about how Ontario’s universities are supporting the provincial vaccine roll-out.
