The relationship between sentiment score and COVID-19 cases in the United States

TL;DR

This study analyzes the link between public sentiment on Twitter and COVID-19 case trends in the US, revealing how pandemic milestones influence emotional responses and providing insights for policy and public education.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for extracting sentiment from COVID-19 tweets and connects sentiment dynamics with case data and pandemic milestones in the US.

Findings

Sentiment scores fluctuate with COVID-19 case numbers.

Specific pandemic milestones significantly impact public sentiment.

The framework aids in understanding emotional responses during health crises.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to have devastating effects across the globe. No nation has been free from the uncertainty brought by this pandemic. The health, social and economic tolls associated with it are causing strong emotions and spreading fear in people of all ages, genders, and races. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have expressed their feelings and opinions related to a wide range of aspects of their lives via Twitter. In this study, we consider a framework for extracting sentiment scores and opinions from COVID-19 related tweets. We connect users' sentiment with COVID-19 cases across the USA and investigate the effect of specific COVID-19 milestones on public sentiment. The results of this work may help with the development of pandemic-related legislation, serve as a guide for scientific work, as well as inform and educate the public on core issues related to the pandemic.