Mondal Himel, Podder Indrashis, Mondal Shaikat
Department of Physiology, Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital, Balasore, Odisha, India.
Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Indian J Dermatol. 2022 Jan-Feb;67(1):92. doi: 10.4103/ijd.ijd_593_21.
Vaccine-hesitancy is an important obstacle to attain herd-immunity against COVID-19. Undue fears about adverse effects like allergic reactions may be an important reason for vaccine-hesitancy.
To assess the online information-seeking behavior of Indian internet users regarding 'allergies' and determine its association with COVID-19 vaccine-hesitancy.
We conducted a Google trend analysis to obtain the relative search volume (RSV) for keywords-'skin allergy,' 'drug allergy,' 'food allergy,' 'vaccine allergy,' 'contact dermatitis,' and 'allergy' using a public domain https://trends.google.com/trends. We further obtained state-wise data and statistically analyzed it to assess any association with vaccine-hesitancy.
Higher RSV was found for 'vaccine allergy' after the advent of COVID-19 vaccines, showing the steepest peak. 'Skin allergy' showed two peaks. The first peak was after the advent of COVID-19 pandemic and second peak was after introduction of vaccines. RSV of 'contact dermatitis' remained unchanged. Eastern and North-Eastern states showed the highest RSV for 'skin' and 'vaccine' allergies. Literacy rate showed a significant positive correlation with vaccination, whereas vaccine-hesitancy was inversely proportional to RSV for 'allergy.
Increased online information-seeking behavior is demonstrated by Indians regarding various 'allergies,' particularly after the advent of COVID-19 vaccines. Literacy was directly proportional to vaccination status, whereas vaccine-hesitancy was inversely proportional to search-volume for 'allergy.'
疫苗犹豫是实现针对新冠病毒的群体免疫的一个重要障碍。对过敏反应等不良反应的过度担忧可能是疫苗犹豫的一个重要原因。
评估印度互联网用户关于“过敏”的在线信息搜索行为，并确定其与新冠疫苗犹豫的关联。
我们进行了谷歌趋势分析，使用公共领域的https://trends.google.com/trends获取关键词“皮肤过敏”“药物过敏”“食物过敏”“疫苗过敏”“接触性皮炎”和“过敏”的相对搜索量（RSV）。我们进一步获取了各邦的数据并进行统计分析，以评估其与疫苗犹豫的任何关联。
新冠疫苗出现后，“疫苗过敏”的RSV更高，呈现出最陡峭的峰值。“皮肤过敏”出现了两个峰值。第一个峰值出现在新冠疫情出现后，第二个峰值出现在疫苗推出后。“接触性皮炎”的RSV保持不变。东部和东北部各邦在“皮肤”和“疫苗”过敏方面的RSV最高。识字率与疫苗接种呈显著正相关，而疫苗犹豫与“过敏”的RSV成反比。
印度人在各种“过敏”方面的在线信息搜索行为有所增加，尤其是在新冠疫苗出现之后。识字率与疫苗接种状况成正比，而疫苗犹豫与“过敏”的搜索量成反比。
