COVID-19 and Influenza to be Initial Focus of Google Health Studies App

December 10, 2020

Google is upping its focus on health research with a new mobile app that lets smartphone users participate in virtual health studies. The tech giant announced Wednesday its new Google Health Studies app with an initial focus on respiratory illnesses, including influenza and COVID-19. The new Google app provides a platform for researchers to reach a large and diverse population so they can better understand human health, while providing the public with greater opportunities to contribute to medical research.

“With COVID-19 emerging alongside seasonal respiratory pathogens, research is now needed more than ever to develop more effective treatments and mitigation strategies,” John Brownstein, M.D., professor at Harvard Medical School and chief innovation officer of Boston Children’s Hospital, said. “Google Health Studies provides people with a secure and easy way to take part in medical research, while letting researchers discover novel epidemiological insights into respiratory diseases.” Read more here.