Comparison of Impressions of COVID-19 Vaccination and Influenza Vaccination in Japan by Analyzing Social Media Using Text Mining

The aim of this study was to compare impressions of COVID-19 vaccination and influenza vaccination in Japan by analyzing social media (Twitter (R)) using a text-mining method. We obtained 10,000 tweets using the keywords corona vaccine and influenza vaccine on 15 December 2022 and 19 February 2023. We then counted the number of times the words were used and listed frequency of these words by a text-mining method called KH Coder. We also investigated concepts in the data using groups of words that often appeared together or groups of documents that contained the same words using multi-dimensional scaling (MDS). Death in relation to corona vaccine and severe disease for influenza vaccine were frequently used on 15 December 2022. The number of times the word death was used decreased, after effect was newly recognized for corona vaccine, and severe disease was not used in relation to influenza vaccine. Through this comprehensive analysis of social media data, we observed distinct variations in public perceptions of corona vaccination and influenza vaccination in Japan. These findings provide valuable insights for public health authorities and policymakers to better understand public sentiment and tailor their communication strategies accordingly.

Automated summary

This study compared public perceptions of COVID-19 vaccination and influenza vaccination in Japan by analyzing social media posts on Twitter. It found that on December 15, 2022, there was frequent discussion of death related to the corona vaccine, while severe disease was not mentioned in relation to the influenza vaccine. However, after the recognition of side effects of the corona vaccine, the mentions of death decreased. The comprehensive analysis of social media data revealed distinct variations in public perceptions of the two vaccines in Japan.