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Bangkok COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Insights

Publication Policy Media

Used Facebook’s digital health survey to assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy during Bangkok’s 2021 outbreak to inform and guide Thailand’s Ministry of Health vaccination campaigns.

Role: Principal Data Scientist & Co-first Author

Focus: Behavior Monitoring · Civic Tech · Data Visualization · Public Health Intervention · Public-Private Collaboration · Urban Health Analytics

Outcomes: Delivered fast, actionable insights integrated into vaccination campaigns for the vulnerable population; Peer-reviewed publication in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance.

At a Glance

Used Facebook’s health survey to quickly measure COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Bangkok.
Hesitancy dropped about 7% weekly as vaccination rates rose.
Main concerns were side effects and caution; 97% trusted health experts most for information.

Visual highlights

Bangkok vaccine concerns segmented by pre-existing conditions

Trusted vaccine information sources in Bangkok — Trusted messengers shaped outreach prioritization by district.

The Problem

In mid-2021, Bangkok’s limited vaccine supply and low uptake slowed outbreak control.
Many high-risk “608” groups were hesitant despite incentives.
Policymakers lacked quick, local data on hesitancy drivers, making targeted responses difficult.

The Solution

Used the UMD/Facebook daily survey to capture real-time vaccination intent and attitudes.
Weighted data to reflect Bangkok demographics and matched results with official records.
Analyzed hesitancy trends and reasons weekly, using correlations to confirm validity.

Architecture Overview

Collected 34,000+ responses over five months for daily and weekly analysis.
Checked representativeness weekly and applied demographic weighting.
Created an automated dashboard showing trends like “% hesitant” and “top reasons.”
Used Python/R for subgroup analysis and statistical testing of differences.
Automated scripts updated metrics weekly for city health officials.

Results and Impacts

Survey demographics closely matched Bangkok’s population, ensuring reliable insights.
Hesitancy dropped ~7% weekly as vaccinations rose, confirming campaign impact.
Top concerns: side effects and “wait and see”; anti-vax sentiment remained low.
Nearly all respondents trusted health professionals, shaping Bangkok’s messaging strategy.

Skills and Tools Used

Technique/Skill	Tools/Implementation
Skill/Tool Category	Application in Bangkok COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Insights
Survey Data Analysis	Processed large-scale responses in Python/R with cleaning, weighting, and trend tracking.
Global Collaboration	Worked with Thailand’s MoPH and academic teams to align insights with local policy.
Statistical Rigor	Applied Kendall tau and chi-square tests to confirm trends and group differences.
Data Visualization	Built clear dashboards and weekly reports with matplotlib and Plotly.
Communication & Storytelling	Translated data into concise insights like “hesitancy falling; stress safety messaging.”
Public Health Partnership	Delivered fast, actionable insights integrated into Bangkok’s COVID response.

Cross-Project Capabilities

Adaptable digital surveillance applied to city-level and national contexts.
Strengthened behavioral insight skills from large-scale human data.
Enhanced coordination across data, policy, and public health teams.

Published Papers/Tools

Policy Guidance: Summarized key drivers of hesitancy and guided health messaging strategies for Bangkok officials to improve vaccination rates. The messages focused on safety (to address side effect concerns) and trusted messengers (health professionals).
Peer-Reviewed Publication: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (2023) – “COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Uptake in Bangkok.” Paper