{"id":26488,"date":"2021-04-05T11:03:50","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T15:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/?p=26488"},"modified":"2021-04-05T11:12:36","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T15:12:36","slug":"americans-are-wildly-misinformed-about-the-risk-of-hospitalization-from-covid-19-survey-shows-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.megalextoria.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2021\/04\/05\/americans-are-wildly-misinformed-about-the-risk-of-hospitalization-from-covid-19-survey-shows-heres-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans Are Wildly Misinformed about the Risk of Hospitalization from COVID-19, Survey Shows. Here\u2019s Why"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A recent survey found that more than one-third of Americans<\/a> overestimate by as much as a factor of ten the probability a person with COVID-19 will require hospitalization.<\/p>\n

Researchers involved in the Franklin Templeton\/Gallup study asked Americans in December what \u201cpercentage of people who have been infected by the coronavirus needed to be hospitalized.” The correct answer is not precisely known, the authors note, but the best available estimates place the figure between 1 and 5 percent.<\/p>\n

Many people\u2019s perceptions of the data, however, were completely off.<\/p>\n

\u201cLess than one in five U.S. adults (18%) give a correct answer of between 1 and 5%,\u201d the study authors said. \u201cMany adults (35%) say that at least half of infected people need hospitalization. If that were true, the millions of resulting patients would have overwhelmed hospitals throughout the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors of the study say the conclusion is clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. public is also deeply misinformed about the severity of the virus for the average infected person,\u201d the study\u2019s authors stated.<\/p>\n