Integrating Social Media and GIS Data to Map Vaccine Hesitancy Hotspots in the United States

Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy is a major issue to the population, which affects the effectiveness of immunization efforts. The paper combines social media analytics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to determine and map the geographical location of vaccine reluctance in the United States. The sentiment analysis was utilized in order to evaluate the attitude of people toward vaccination based on social media posts, and GIS methods were used to visualize the spatial pattern. The findings indicate a specific geographic belt of hesitancy with some tendency to match the definite demographic and socioeconomic features. This comprehensive method does not leave any disturbing questions to the health authorities of the population, as it offers a proper way to intervene in the challenges of vaccine reluctance and implement communication strategies.