# Preparing for future pandemics: A qualitative exploration of social media in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine hesitancy

## TL;DR

This study explores how social media reflects vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, Brazil, and India, highlighting themes like mistrust in science and politics.

## Contribution

The study introduces a qualitative analysis of Twitter data to uncover key themes in vaccine hesitancy linked to science mistrust, political views, and religion.

## Key findings

- Mistrust in vaccine science was a major theme in vaccine hesitancy on social media.
- Political and religious factors significantly influenced perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Social media can be used to better understand and address vaccine hesitancy through targeted communication.

## Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy remains a significant barrier to the success of global vaccination campaigns and vaccine programs. Understanding people’s perceptions of vaccines on social media during disease outbreaks can aid in reducing socially induced vaccine hesitancy and improve program implementation. Social media is an increasingly valuable tool for assessing public perceptions on critical issues, including vaccine adoption. This study examines perceptions surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine among Twitter users in the United States, Brazil, and India within a few weeks post-vaccine release. These countries are associated with anti-vaccine movements and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. We identified and analyzed key themes related to vaccine perception in 2,858 Twitter posts. Using a qualitative interpretive approach to analyze tweets, we found that mistrust in vaccine science, politics of vaccination, and religious pushbacks were the main themes that emerged from the analysis. Perceptions harbored by individuals and communicated frequently via mass communication platforms may erode public trust and disarticulate avenues of communication between public health officials and communities. Thus, we suggest that harnessing vaccine hesitancy-related information on social media can enhance understanding of public perceptions about vaccines while providing opportunities for interventional communications to educate the public.