People Believing COVID-19 Misinformation More Likely To Contract The Virus, Says Study
Other associations with greater contraction included greater trust and confidence in the former president of the US, Trump, as well as greater trust in the federal government and greater conspiratorial ideation.
People who have less accurate information about the SARS-CoV-2 are associated with higher chances of contracting the novel coronavirus.
Reuters
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This is according to a study published in the journal PNAS, where it asked US residents to complete a brief test of COVID-19 knowledge, asking them 13 questions (around May 2020) which they had to answer in either true or false.
The questionnaire had questions such as ¡°Some individuals who have COVID-19/the coronavirus do not show any symptoms,¡± or ¡°Spraying chlorine on my body will protect me even if COVID-19/the coronavirus has already entered my system.¡±
They also completed assessments for several other variables such as perception of the pandemic, faith in government, faith in science and scientists as well as thoughts on conspiracy theories.
Four months later 2,120 participants were contacted again and asked if they contracted SARS CoV-2 infection or if they believed they were sick due to COVID-19. A total of 348 participants indicated they had experienced COVID-19. Upon further analysis, researchers found that this lot had most who were less knowledgeable about the novel coronavirus.
Other associations with greater contraction included greater trust and confidence in the former president of the US, Trump, as well as greater trust in the federal government and greater conspiratorial ideation.
Reuters
Also Read: Facebook Will Now Notify Users Who Like Or Share COVID-19 Misinformation
Study author Russell H. Fazio, the Harold E. Burtt Chair in Psychology at The Ohio State University, said in a statement to PsyPost, ¡°There are many important findings from this research, but the most critical one may be related to misinformation regarding COVID-19. We had administered a brief quiz regarding the virus. Individuals with more accurate knowledge were far less likely to have contracted COVID-19.¡±
He added, ¡°It would be fascinating to examine the consequences of correcting any misinformation that people had acquired regarding the virus. Whether changes inaccurate knowledge results in changes in the likelihood of contracting the virus is an important question that needs to be addressed.¡±
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