Nearly one in three Americans said they believe that it is 'probably' or 'definitely' true that a coronavirus vaccine exis...
Nearly one in three Americans said they believe that it is 'probably' or 'definitely' true that a coronavirus vaccine exists and is being withheld from the public while almost half think COVID-19 was created in a lab, according to a new poll.
The results are from a survey conducted by the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project and USA TODAY.
The poll found that 29 per cent said it's either probably or definitely true that a vaccine exists and is being withheld, while 32 per cent say that there is currently treatment that cures COVID-19 but is not being administered.
Of those who believed that a vaccine exists, the breakdown is split evenly among Democrats and Republicans, according to the survey.
Lindsey Leinbach takes a swab to test for the coronavirus at a One Medical testing facility in the Bronx on Tuesday. A new survey finds an alarming number of Americans believes that a vaccine for COVID-19 already exists and is being withheld from the public
A majority – nearly 7 out of 10 Americans – said they believe those statements aren't true.
The survey took a sample of more than 6,300 Americans who were asked questions between April 2 and 8. The margin of error is 2.2 percentage points.
'To see about a third of people give that some level of, 'Yeah, that might be true,' that was pretty shocking to me,' said Robert Griffin, research director for the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group.
'That's a pretty dark type of thought to be floating around the public.
'There's an undercurrent of a lack of trust in society, a lack of trust in elites.'
He added: 'You could sort of see how that could suggest sort of a rather nefarious bit of actions on the part of a wide variety of actors within society if people are truly holding onto that idea.'
The pandemic has resulted in a near nationwide lockdown that has shuttered nonessential businesses and brought the global economy to a grinding halt.
In recent weeks, there are signs of increasing impatience among those who say it is time for authorities to find a way to restart economic activity.
But health officials say that without widespread testing or a vaccine, resuming pre-lockdown normal life runs the risk of mass infections that could once again overwhelm hospitals and lead to more illness and death.
'There's a variety of battlegrounds in a public health crisis like this,' Griffin said.
'But another one is just how to convince people of the truth about a variety of things.'
The survey also found that Americans hold a number of other conspiratorial views about the coronavirus.
Thousands of people walk along the beach as a heatwave hits Southern California amid the coronavirus pandemic in Huntington Beach on Friday
For instance, 44 per cent of Americans believe coronavirus was probably created in a lab.
A majority – 56 per cent – said this is likely or definitely not true.
Half of Republicans who were surveyed said they believed coronavirus was created in a lab, while just 37 per cent of Democrats agreed.
'The key word there is 'created',' Griffin said.
'It is a question that points toward intentionality.'
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said his government is trying to determine whether the coronavirus emanated from a lab in Wuhan, China, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Beijing 'needs to come clean' on what they know.
The source of the virus remains a mystery.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Tuesday that US intelligence indicates that the coronavirus likely occurred naturally, as opposed to being created in a laboratory in China, but there is no certainty either way.
Fox News reported on Wednesday that the virus originated in a Wuhan laboratory not as a bioweapon, but as part of China's effort to demonstrate that its efforts to identify and combat viruses are equal to or greater than the capabilities of the United States.
This report and others have suggested the Wuhan lab where virology experiments take place and lax safety standards there led to someone getting infected and appearing at a nearby 'wet' market, where the virus began to spread.
The broad scientific consensus holds that SARS-CoV-2, the virus' official name, originated in bats.
China's foreign ministry said the World Health Organization has said there is no evidence that the coronavirus that has infected more than 2 million people globally was made in a lab.
The survey also found that nearly half of all Americans – 48 per cent – said that the US government is 'concealing' the actual number of COVID-19 deaths.
In this case, Democrats are more likely to distrust the official casualty figures.
According to the survey, 55 per cent of Democrats think it's probably or definitely true that the actual number of COVID-19 deaths is being concealed.
Among Republicans, just 38 per cent think the same.
The poll did find that despite general mistrust in official figures, an overwhelming majority of Americans continue to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
The survey found that 81 per cent of Americans have not left their home for a prolonged period of time – a 9 per cent increase compared to two weeks before the survey was done.
A woman cycles past a sign reading 'Covid-19 Beach Paths Closed' amid the coronavirus pandemic in Long Beach, California, on Friday. Most Americans continue to adhere to social distancing guidelines, according to a new survey
On the question of whether they believed the coronavirus was being 'exaggerated' for political purposes, 35 per cent said this was probably or definitely true.
More Republicans – 44 per cent – were likely to believe this compared to Democrats (26 per cent).
Nearly 40 per cent said it was definitely or probably true that people 30 years old or younger are less likely to get infected by coronavirus.
The survey found that those under the age of 44 are more likely to believe this, even though this is incorrect.
Young people are just as likely to get infected as older people.
More than a third of Americans – 36 per cent - also said that coronavirus is no more dangerous than the season flu for those under the age of 30.
This belief is more likely to be held by those 44 years of age or younger, the survey found.
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