The study, conducted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, United States, says that people with depressive symptoms may be more likely to accept misinformation circulating online about “Covid 19” vaccines.
According to the study, whose results were published in the journal “Gamma Network”, among the more than 15,000 adults aged 18 or older surveyed, those who reported symptoms of major depressive disorder were more likely to support at least one statement related to corona vaccines, including: misinformation.
Respondents who endorsed at least one false statement about vaccines were 60 percent less likely to vaccinate, and nearly three times more likely to describe themselves as resistant to vaccination, the researchers said.
Commenting on the study, Roy Perlis, director of the Health Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, said: “Depression seems to make people more susceptible to receiving misinformation about corona vaccines,” according to the United Press International news agency.
misinformation
In the study, Perlis and his colleagues asked participants to rate their level of agreement with a number of misinformation related to corona vaccines, such as that they alter people’s DNA, or contain microchips that can track the two immunized people.
The researchers explained that other examples of misinformation used in the survey included the fact that vaccines contain lung tissue from aborted fetuses, and the possibility of causing sterility.
The data showed that of the 15,464 people surveyed, 27 percent had moderate or severe depressive symptoms, and 19 percent supported at least one of the researchers’ misinformation statements.
“People with depression can sometimes see the world in a negative way, that is, they tend to pay attention to negative information more compared to positive information,” Perlis said, pointing to the seriousness of depression and its role in preventing anti-epidemic vaccinations.
It is worth noting that the latest Reuters statistic showed that more than 341.63 million people were infected with the Corona virus worldwide, while the total number of deaths resulting from the virus reached 5. 926,434 million.
Infections with the virus have been recorded in more than 210 countries and regions, since the first cases were discovered in China in late 2019.
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