Americans' searches on Google for COVID-19 vaccination appointments have spiked 1,900 percent since January, according to a recent analysis from virtual private network service NordVPN Teams.
Three details on the most popular vaccination search terms:
1. Since the beginning of 2021, searches for where to get the vaccine and keywords "Walgreens vaccine appointment" increased by 7,000 percent.
2. Keywords "Walmart COVID vaccine" spiked 2,100 percent on Google Search.
3. Searches for Walmart COVID-19 vaccinations are six times more popular than general inquiries at traditional pharmacies and healthcare institutions and four times more frequent than Walgreens searches.
With the increase in online activity surrounding COVID-19 vaccinations, a NordVPN Teams news release warned that consumers should look out for spikes in cybercriminal activities, including phishing tracks, false vaccine availability advertisements and more fraud and identity theft linked to vaccination cards published online.