Research: Misinformation can dissuade people from getting vaccinated against the coronavirus



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Conspiracy theories and misinformation fuel people’s distrust of the vaccine and could affect the number of those who are vaccinated against covid 19 without reaching the level needed to protect the population, according to research conducted in Britain and the States. United.


Source: B92

Illustration / Photo: Depositphotos / devteev

Illustration / Photo: Depositphotos / devteev

The survey involved 8,000 people in the two countries and showed that less than 55 per cent of the population is ready to be vaccinated against kovid 19, which is the percentage needed to acquire so-called “herd immunity”.

“Vaccines are only effective if people are vaccinated. Misinformation fuels anxiety and uncertainty about new vaccines and spreads on social media,” said Heidi Larson, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a of the study authors.

“This reduces the percentage of the population willing to accept the vaccine,” says Larson, who is also the director of the International Vaccine Confidence Project.

The study was published on Thursday, the week in which pharmaceutical companies, the American Pfizer and the German BioNTech, based on the results of the clinical studies, announced that their vaccine against Covid 19 is as effective as 90 percent. of cases. These figures are a key step in the fight against the pandemic that has killed more than a million people so far.

Women are more willing than men to refuse the vaccine

Illustration / Photo: depositphotos / belchonock

Illustration / Photo: depositphotos / belchonock

In a disinformation study, 3,000 respondents in each country between June and August were exposed to widespread misinformation on social media regarding the kovid 19 vaccine.

One thousand remaining respondents in each country, who were a control group, received factual information about the kovid 19 vaccine.

Before being exposed to misinformation, 54% of respondents in the United Kingdom (UK) said they would be “safely” vaccinated against kovid 19, and in the United States that figure was 41.2%, according to Index. But after being exposed to misinformation, confidence dropped 6.4% in the UK and 2.4% in the US.

In both countries, people without a college education, low-income workers, and non-whites are more willing to refuse the kovid 19 vaccine, the study says.

Women are more willing than men to refuse the kovid vaccine 19, but more respondents in both countries would be willing to accept the vaccine if it means protecting their family, friends or groups at risk.



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