A model of opinion dynamics with echo chambers explains the spatial distribution of vaccine hesitancy

Understand

Vaccination hesitancy is a major obstacle to achieving and maintaining herd immunity.

• It is therefore of prime importance for public health authorities to understand the dynamics of an anti-vaccine opinion in the population.
• We introduce a novel mathematical model of opinion dynamics with spatial reinforcement, which can generate echo chambers, i.e.
• opinion bubbles in which information that is incompatible with one's entrenched worldview, is likely disregarded.