In a new poll released by KFF, it has been found that a significant number of adults continue to believe misinformation regarding key health issues, particularly concerning COVID-19, vaccines, and reproductive health. The survey showed that even if participants didn’t believe the claims, almost all of them were aware of the misinformation, with 96 percent stating that they had heard at least one of the 10 claims presented to them. The most prevalent misinformation was related to COVID-19 and vaccines.
According to the polling data, one-third of adults believed that COVID-19 vaccines caused sudden deaths in healthy individuals. Of this group, 10 percent considered this claim to be “definitely true,” while 23 percent believed it to be “probably true.” On the other hand, 34 percent believed it was “probably false,” and 31 percent believed it was “definitely false.”
Additionally, nearly one-third of people believed that the deworming medication ivermectin was an effective treatment for COVID-19. Among those who disagreed, 44 percent thought the claim was “probably false,” and 22 percent believed it was “definitely false.” However, health experts and clinicians have repeatedly emphasized that there is no scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of ivermectin in treating or preventing COVID-19, and the FDA has never authorized its use for this purpose.
The poll also revealed that approximately 25 percent of respondents believed that vaccines against measles, mumps, and rubella cause autism in children, and that COVID-19 vaccines result in infertility. However, no evidence has been found to support the notion that immunization against COVID-19 affects male or female fertility. The claim that vaccines cause autism has long been debunked, with studies, including one conducted in Sweden, finding no link between vaccinations and autism.
Regarding reproductive health, about one-third of participants in the survey believed that sex education leads to increased sexual activity among teenagers. Furthermore, they believed that birth control methods such as the pill or IUDs make it harder for women to conceive after discontinuing their use. However, these claims are not supported by scientific evidence.
The poll also highlighted widespread misinformation concerning gun violence, with 60 percent of respondents believing that armed school police guards have been proven to prevent school shootings. However, an analysis of 133 school shootings from 1980-2019 found that the presence of armed school police officers did not significantly reduce gun injuries.
Furthermore, 42 percent of participants believed that owning firearms in their homes makes them less likely to be killed by guns. In reality, a 2022 analysis of California adults from 2004-2016 found that homicide rates were over twice as high among people living with gun owners than among those without guns in their homes.
While these findings indicate that a significant minority of adults continue to believe in disproven health claims, KFF noted that the number of people considering them “definitely true” was relatively small overall. The majority of individuals fell into what the organization referred to as the “malleable middle,” expressing uncertainty about the presented claims.
The poll also revealed that certain groups, including those with lower levels of education, self-identified Republicans, as well as Black and Hispanic adults, were more susceptible to misinformation.
The KFF Health Misinformation Tracking Poll Pilot was conducted from May 23 to June 12 and included 2,007 adults as participants. The margin of error for the results is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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