Johns Hopkins University is seeking to partner with 25 health departments to launch an AI chatbot to counter COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in your state, city, or county, at no cost to health departments. VIRA is a COVID-19 vaccine chatbot created by the Johns Hopkins International Vaccine Access Center and IBM to provide users with instant answers on vaccine questions 24/7. VIRA, which works in English and Spanish, understands users’ questions in natural language, and responds with facts and empathy. It’s continually updated with new evidence and guidelines on COVID-19 vaccines, covering over 200 topics. Partners in the VIRA X NACCHO collaboration will receive technical support to embed VIRA in your own web page and related health campaigns, as well as real-time data showing trending and emerging concerns surrounding COVID-19.
For departments serving over 500,000 constituents, you can apply to the VIRA X NACCHO competition to access a VIRA Local, a fully custom version of VIRA for free. This includes access to all VIRA’s expert-vetted database responses as well as social messaging insights for your district and customized answers specific to your jurisdiction.
Learn more:
Applications due September 15.
