Analysis of Yandex search queries related to COVID‑19 in Russian Federation

Abstract

Approaches based on the analysis of internet search query data can be important for understanding public reaction and conducting disease surveillance. One of these tools may be the Yandex.Wordstat service. In addition to near-universal public access to search services and the ability to collect real-time data, many users search information in the internet before visiting a doctor, which makes it possible to better capture the onset of diseases, the processes associated with them and the reaction of society.The aim of our retrospective, descriptive study of COVID‑19 in Russia is to use Yandex.Wordstat to describe the symptoms of the disease and complications based on search queries, as well as their relationship to the public interest in prevention measures, testing for COVID‑19.Methods. We used the Yandex.Wordstat service, a public online system for tracking search queries by week in the Yandex search engine. Requests to Yandex in Russia were analyzed from 08/10/2020 to 11/28/2021. We initially compiled a list of 61 search terms in the following categories: common symptoms of COVID‑19, complications, testing, drug use, preventive measures, medical care, allergies.Results. Search terms related to symptoms, testing, and drugs closely correlate with reported cases of COVID‑19 in Russia, which indicates the need for further research on the potential use of the Yandex service as a disease surveillance tool.