MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama residents now have a new tool to get help and information during the COVID-19 emergency.
covid19.alabama.gov has everything from real-time answers to questions about everything from the virus itself and a symptom checker developed at UAB to upcoming COVID-19 testing site locations.
Using this search engine, someone can type a question about COVID-19 and get instant results directing them to answers from local, state and federal partners like ADPH, CDC, and the Federation of American Scientists.
The UAB symptom checker is an especially important tool because it's helping the to track where new hot spots may be. UAB researchers are urging everyone to use it, whether they have symptoms or not, to help the research effort.
The site is accessible directly or through altogetheralabama.org, the state's guide to COVID-19 relief efforts.
"My priority as governor is making sure every Alabamian has the most accurate, up-to-date information about COVID-19, so we can keep our families safe,” Governor Ivey said. "To help with this, we've partnered with our friends in the private sector, Yext, to build this search engine tool that works in conjunction with our official resource site Altogether Alabama."
Dr. Regina Benjamin, former U.S. Surgeon General of Bayou La Batre, served as an expert health care consultant in the site development and provided valuable insight of information most needed by the public.
“The information hub covid19.alabama.gov puts real-time, up to date information at the general public’s fingertips, including the latest health stats, a UAB-symptom checker, and test site locations,” says Dr. Benjamin. “You can ask ‘Natural Language’ questions and be directed to answers from trusted sources such as the ADPH, CDC, and the Federation of American Scientists.”
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