The public conversation about vaccines and vaccination against covid-19 on Twitter

an infodemiological study

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-58442023121pt

Keywords:

Vaccine, Vaccination, COVID-19, Twitter, Infodemiology

Abstract

The present research is infodemiological and aims to characterize the public conversation about the vaccine and vaccination against COVID-19 in Brazil that took place on Twitter. To map the latent topics in the collected data (13.2 million tweets), topic modeling was used. since the efficacy of public vaccination policies is conditioned by its population adhesion. From the results, 50 topics were identified and discussed over the period of analysis, 11 of which have direct potential to promote vaccine hesitancy, categorized into thematic groups, namely Accountability, Public Policies, Conflicts, Bioethics, Experience Reports, Economic Aspects, Conspiracy Theories; and Safety, Efficacy and Importance of Vaccines. There was a strong politicization translated by the most retweeted profiles and hashtags used, not only partisan, but mostly civic, represented by users participation through the manifestation of social control in health.

Author Biographies

Arthur da Silva Lopes, Universidade Federal da Bahia. Salvador – Ba, Brazil

Interdisciplinary Bachelor in Health from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and Data Scientist. She is a master’s student in the Postgraduate Program in Collective Health (ISC/UFBA) and a researcher in the Media and Health axis of the Observatory of Political Analysis in Health (ISC-UFBA). She is also a collaborator at the National Institute for the Public Communication of Science and Technology (INCT-CPCT), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz).

Antonio Marcos Pereira Brotas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Salvador - BA, Brazil

He has a PhD in Culture and Society from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), a master’s degree in Contemporary Communication and Culture from UFBA and a post-doctorate from the Post-Graduate Program in Science, Technology and Health Communication at Casa Oswaldo Cruz (COC/Fiocruz). He is currently a public health technologist at the Gonçalo Moniz Institute (IGM - Fiocruz Bahia), journalist, communications advisor, permanent lecturer on the Master’s Degree in Science, Technology and Health Communication (COC/Fiocruz) and researcher at the Global Health and Neglected Diseases Research Laboratory (LISD).

Luisa Massarani, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil

She is the coordinator of the National Institute for the Public Communication of Science and Technology and a researcher at the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. She teaches in the Postgraduate Program in Teaching in Biosciences and Health at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute/Fiocruz, in the Postgraduate Program in Teaching at the Institute of Medical Biochemistry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and in the Academic Master’s Program in Dissemination of Science, Technology and Health at the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz. She has a degree in Social Communication from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (1987), a master’s degree in Information Science from the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (1998), a PhD in Management, Education and Dissemination in Biosciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2001), a post-doctorate at University College London (2013) and a post-doctorate at Oregon State University (2015-2016). She has published around 230 articles in national and international scientific journals.

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Published

2023-12-08

How to Cite

LOPES, A. da S.; BROTAS, . A. M. P.; MASSARANI, L. The public conversation about vaccines and vaccination against covid-19 on Twitter: an infodemiological study. Intercom - Brazilian Journal of Communication Sciences, São Paulo, v. 46, p. e2023121, 2023. DOI: 10.1590/1809-58442023121pt. Disponível em: https://www.revistas.intercom.org.br/index.php/revistaintercom/article/view/4401. Acesso em: 6 jul. 2025.

Issue

Vol. 46 (2023)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Arthur da Silva Lopes, Antonio Marcos Pereira Brotas, Luisa Massarani

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