Vaccine misinformation is a significant driver of vaccine hesitancy, spreading within social networks as anti-vaccine social contagion. This potentially causes larger disease outbreaks due to the clustering of unprotected individuals influenced by this contagion, who may then choose to remain unvaccinated. In this study, through a coupled agent-based model that integrates vaccine opinions and disease diffusion processes, we design an optimal counter-campaign that spreads positive vaccine information to counteract vaccine misinformation and ultimately suppress the spread of an epidemic. We demonstrate that targeting individuals with anti-vaccine neighbors in their social networks can effectively contain the spread of negative influence when interventions are implemented at early stages. Conversely, once anti-vaccine opinion adopters begin forming larger clusters within the network, shielding bridging regions between clusters becomes crucial in restricting the growth of anti-vaccine communities and thereby controlling the spread of epidemics.

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Optimal Intervention Campaign to Combat Anti-vaccine Social Contagion and Contain Epidemic Spread

  • Sarah Alahmadi,
  • Rebecca Hoyle,
  • Michael Head,
  • Markus Brede

摘要

Vaccine misinformation is a significant driver of vaccine hesitancy, spreading within social networks as anti-vaccine social contagion. This potentially causes larger disease outbreaks due to the clustering of unprotected individuals influenced by this contagion, who may then choose to remain unvaccinated. In this study, through a coupled agent-based model that integrates vaccine opinions and disease diffusion processes, we design an optimal counter-campaign that spreads positive vaccine information to counteract vaccine misinformation and ultimately suppress the spread of an epidemic. We demonstrate that targeting individuals with anti-vaccine neighbors in their social networks can effectively contain the spread of negative influence when interventions are implemented at early stages. Conversely, once anti-vaccine opinion adopters begin forming larger clusters within the network, shielding bridging regions between clusters becomes crucial in restricting the growth of anti-vaccine communities and thereby controlling the spread of epidemics.