Study of Influence of Public Opinion about Vaccination on COVID–19 Immunization

This study is aimed at assessing impact of public opinion about vaccination on immunization against COVID-19 and, as a result, implementation of measures for the non-proliferation of morbidity among the population. The study differs from previous ones in the following areas: 1) posts from the most popular social network in Russia, VKontakte, are analyzed for the first time; 2) influence of intensity of the epidemic process and attitude of the population to vaccination on inoculation coverage is considered; 3) lag effect and influence on running time of indicated factors on vaccination, are considered. Morbidity dynamics in Russia and vaccination rate were analyzed according to the portal "Our World in Data". Attitude of population to vaccination is determined through sentiment analysis of posts of Vkontakte in 2021. Assessment of dependence of people’s attitude to vaccination and implementation of immunization process, as well as the spread of viral infection, is studied using Granger causality test. The results of the article can be used in solving problems of increasing effectiveness of implementation of state anti-epidemic measures and management of vaccination process.