Online Information-Seeking Behavior for Allergies and its Association with COVID-19 Vaccine-Hesitancy in India: An Info-Epidemiologic Study

Background: 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. Objectives: To assess the online information-seeking behavior of Indian internet users regarding 'allergies' and determine its association with COVID-19 vaccine-hesitancy. Methods: 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. Results: 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.' Conclusion: 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.'