Americans Are Shockingly Misinformed about COVID-19 Death Rates

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According to a Gallup study, Americans grossly overestimate the risk that the coronavirus presents, especially to younger people. Researchers found that the “gross misperception” of COVID-19 is driven by “partisanship and misinformation,” both of which are driven by mainstream media. Americans falsely believe that people aged 55 and older account for just over half of total COVID-19 deaths,. The actual figure is 92%. They also believe that 30% of COVID-19 deaths occur in people under 44. The actual figure is 2.7%. Those who get information predominantly from social media have the most distorted perception of risk. The coronavirus is similar to the AIDS ‘epidemic’ that became the best funded disease in America besides cancer, even though it was almost entirely limited to gay men and other recreational dug users.

Franklin Templeton, an investment company, commissioned a Gallup research study to learn about Americans’ perceptions about the Wuhan virus, with an eye to better understanding the recovery.  What the project revealed is that Americans grossly overestimate the risk that the Wuhan virus presents, especially to younger people.  That they’re so worried isn’t surprising, considering how the mainstream media have reported on the virus.  For Democrats, hysteria helps.

What struck me was that this deliberate effort to stoke ignorance is a replay of what the media did back in the mid-1980s with AIDS.  Then, the press insisted that AIDS was an illness that could attack anyone, no matter his sex, race, or sexual orientation.  This was a lie.  In America, AIDS was always a disease primarily limited to gay men, hemophiliacs, and intravenous drug–users.

Franklin Templeton summed up the findings as follows (emphasis mine):

Our Fixed Income CIO Sonal Desai unveils the first insights from the new Franklin Templeton–Gallup research project on the behavioral response to the COVID-19 pandemic and implications for the recovery: we find a gross misperception of COVID-19 risk, driven by partisanship and misinformation, and a willingness to pay a significant “safety premium” that could affect future inflation.

Although Franklin Templeton was surprised by the details, it’s doubtful any Republican is:

The first round of our Franklin Templeton–Gallup Economics of Recovery Study has already yielded three powerful and surprising insights:

  1. Americans still misperceive the risks of death from COVID-19 for different age cohorts — to a shocking extent;
  2. The misperception is greater for those who identify as Democrats, and for those who rely more on social media for information; partisanship and misinformation, to misquote Thomas Dolby, are blinding us from science; and
  3. We find a sizable “safety premium” that could become a significant driver of inflation as the recovery gets underway.

The following are the specific misperceptions plaguing Americans, especially Democrats:

Six months into this pandemic, Americans still dramatically misunderstand the risk of dying from COVID-19:

  • On average, Americans believe that people aged 55 and older account for just over half of total COVID-19 deaths; the actual figure is 92%.
  • Americans believe that people aged 44 and younger account for about 30% of total deaths; the actual figure is 2.7%.
  • Americans overestimate the risk of death from COVID-19 for people aged 24 and younger by a factor of 50; and they think the risk for people aged 65 and older is half of what it actually is (40% vs 80%).

By misleading Americans about the risks of the Wuhan virus, the Democrats are advancing several political goals: they destroyed the blazing Trump economy, they’ve forced people into government dependence, and they think they’ve given the teachers’ union a winning hand in forcing “social justice” on America’s public schools.

Read full article here…

Additional source:

Ignorance About Covid-19 Risk Is ‘Nothing Short of Stunning,’ Research Report Says; Huge Age Variance – Wirepoints

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Sharp
Sharp
3 years ago

I deliver pizza, we have strict rules designed to keep us and customer’s safe from spreading the virus. I ask everyone I can if they know someone who’s been infected. I haven’t found a single person that said yes.

Arjay
Arjay
3 years ago

The cv-19 virus is NO more dangerous than the annual flu!! The death rate is SO inflated in order to get control of those who are PANICKING over the cv-19 by believing this virus is extremely deadly! Caused by the LIES of the LSM and the so called “EXPERTS”! Wake up people, this cv-19 virus is ALL ABOUT CONTROL of the population. Just to see how easy it is to have people give up their RIGHTS, LIBERTIES and Constitutional PROTECTIONS for the ALLUSION of SAFETY (such as the alusion that wearing masks will SAVE you from the virus-that passes right… Read more »