PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS ON TWITTER ABOUT COVID-19 VACCINES IN THAILAND

Abstract

Twitter is a social media platform in which users express and discuss their opinions regarding public issues, such as COVID-19 vaccination. In this study, we aimed to determine the factors influencing public perceptions regarding COVID-19 vaccination using Twitter in order to inform efforts to improve vaccination rates. We collected tweets mentioning COVID vaccination in the Thai language during 13 January 2020-15 June 2021. The tweets were translated into English and the content of the tweets were determined and the number of tweets and likes were recorded. The sentiment of each tweet was classified into three categories: positive, negative and neutral, and the tweet trends were evaluated for the 7-day period before and 7-day period after selected vaccination campaign events. A total of 31,043 tweets were included in the analysis. Sentiment distribution analysis revealed the Thai Prime Minister’s vaccination (p = 0.0007) and a COVID-19 vaccine promotion campaign in the online media by medical experts (p<0.0001) significantly increased positive sentiment after those events. The day a Thai social media influencer received a COVID-19 vaccine resulted in the greatest number of tweets regarding COVID-19 vaccination (n =2,186) and resulted in a significant increase in positive sentiment regarding COVID-19 vaccination (p = 0.0280). In summary, public figure vaccination or promotion of COVID-19 vaccination significantly increased positive sentiment regarding COVID-19 vaccination. We conclude that public figures or medical professionals can improve public sentiment regarding vaccination and should be encouraged to support vaccination campaigns. Further studies are needed to determine if this increase in positive public sentiment will result in increased vaccination uptake.