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Americans Misperceive the Risk of Covid-19

Americans Misperceive the Risk of Covid-19

Created: Tuesday, August 25, 2020 - 13:51
Categories:
Pandemics, Research

Franklin Templeton Investments and Gallup have released initial findings from a joint research project investigating “the behavioral response to the COVID-19 pandemic and implications for the recovery” from the pandemic’s economic effects. The critical finding from the survey is that Americans still consistently misperceive the actual risk of death from COVID-19 for various age groups. Accounting for partisan bias, Americans believe that U.S. patients aged 55 and older make up a little over 50% of all COVID-19 deaths; however, the actual number is 92%. Similarly, Americans believe patients aged 44 or younger make up around 30% of all COVID-19 deaths, when the actual number is 2.7%. Overall, these misperceptions that could lead to significant consequences in terms of how seriously Americans act in the face of the continued pandemic. Read more at Franklin Templeton.