scholarly journals A Pandemic of Misbelief: How Beliefs Promote or Undermine COVID-19 Mitigation

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Vitriol ◽  
Jessecae K. Marsh

Sustained and coordinated social action is needed to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Health practitioners and governments around the world have issued recommendations and mandates designed to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 by influencing the social behaviors of the general public. Why and when are some people unwilling to take action to protect themselves and others from the effects of this public health crisis? We find that belief in COVID-19 consensus information (by the self or perceptions of scientists’ beliefs), are consequential predictors of COVID-19 mitigation behaviors. Importantly, support for COVID-19 conspiracy theories predicted decreased, whereas perceived understanding of COVID-19 predicted increased, belief in COVID-19 consensus information. We also implemented an Illusion of Explanatory depth paradigm, an approach to examining knowledge overestimation shown to reduce confidence in one’s understanding of complex phenomena. By requiring participants to elaborate upon COVID-19 conspiracies, we experimentally increased understanding of these theories, which led, in turn, to ironic increases in support for the conspiracy theories and undermined perceived understanding of COVID-19 information for a notable portion of our participants. Together, our results suggest that attention given to COVID-19 conspiracies may be misguided; describing or explaining the existence of COVID-19 conspiracies may ironically increase support for these accounts and undermine knowledge about and willingness to engage in COVID-19 mitigation.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 462-468
Author(s):  
Latika kothari ◽  
Sanskruti Wadatkar ◽  
Roshni Taori ◽  
Pavan Bajaj ◽  
Diksha Agrawal

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a communicable infection caused by the novel coronavirus resulting in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV). It was recognized to be a health crisis for the general population of international concern on 30th January 2020 and conceded as a pandemic on 11th March 2020. India is taking various measures to fight this invisible enemy by adopting different strategies and policies. To stop the COVID-19 from spreading, the Home Affairs Ministry and the health ministry, of India, has issued the nCoV 19 guidelines on travel. Screening for COVID-19 by asking questions about any symptoms, recent travel history, and exposure. India has been trying to get testing kits available. The government of India has enforced various laws like the social distancing, Janata curfew, strict lockdowns, screening door to door to control the spread of novel coronavirus. In this pandemic, innovative medical treatments are being explored, and a proper vaccine is being hunted to deal with the situation. Infection control measures are necessary to prevent the virus from further spreading and to help control the current situation. Thus, this review illustrates and explains the criteria provided by the government of India to the awareness of the public to prevent the spread of COVID-19.


Open Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 749-753
Author(s):  
Wenyuan Li ◽  
Beibei Huang ◽  
Qiang Shen ◽  
Shouwei Jiang ◽  
Kun Jin ◽  
...  

Abstract In recent months, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a major public health crisis with takeover more than 1 million lives worldwide. The long-lasting existence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has not yet been reported. Herein, we report a case of SARS-CoV-2 infection with intermittent viral polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-positive for >4 months after clinical rehabilitation. A 35-year-old male was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia with fever but without other specific symptoms. The treatment with lopinavir-ritonavir, oxygen inhalation, and other symptomatic supportive treatment facilitated recovery, and the patient was discharged. However, his viral PCR test was continually positive in oropharyngeal swabs for >4 months after that. At the end of June 2020, he was still under quarantine and observation. The contribution of current antivirus therapy might be limited. The prognosis of COVID-19 patients might be irrelevant to the virus status. Thus, further investigation to evaluate the contagiousness of convalescent patients and the mechanism underlying the persistent existence of SARS-CoV-2 after recovery is essential. A new strategy of disease control, especially extending the follow-up period for recovered COVID-19 patients, is necessary to adapt to the current situation of pandemic.


European View ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-163
Author(s):  
Nad’a Kovalčíková ◽  
Ariane Tabatabai

As governments and citizens around the world have struggled with the novel coronavirus, the information space has turned into a battleground. Authoritarian countries, including Russia, China and Iran, have spread disinformation on the causes of and responses to the pandemic. The over-abundance of information, also referred to as an ‘infodemic’, including manipulated information, has been both a cause and a result of the exacerbation of the public health crisis. It is further undermining trust in democratic institutions, the independent press, and facts and data, and exacerbating the rising tensions driven by economic, political and societal challenges. This article discusses the challenges democracies have faced and the measures they have adopted to counter information manipulation that impedes public health efforts. It draws seven lessons learned from the information war and offers a set of recommendations on tackling future infodemics related to public health.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 366-369
Author(s):  
Rooh Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Suleman Rana ◽  
Mehmood Qadir ◽  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Niaz Ahmed

Pandemic of novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in China is now become global public health crisis. At present 87.64% of the world is infected by this deadly illness. The risk from this epidemic depends on the nature of the virus, including how well it transmits from person to person, and the complications resulting from this current illness. The novel coronavirus has killed thousands of people in China and other countries as well; its rate of mortality is increasing day by day. There is an urgent need to control the virus by developing vaccine or any other antiviral drugs to save the world from this deadly viral infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Mohadeseh Motamed-Jahromi ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Kaveh

As well as causing a global health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic has also generated multilevel social changes by damaging psychosocial and economic resources across Iranian society. Therefore, this qualitative study was conducted to examine and explain these social consequences and their impact on the social capital of Iran during the COVID-19 outbreak. Using a content analysis approach, nine experts participated in semistructured, in-depth interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Lundman and Graneheim’s method. The social impacts of COVID-19 can be summarized into six categories and 32 subcategories. Three positive-negative categories emerged from the data analysis: “formation of new patterns of social communications; formation of new patterns of behavior; creation of economic changes.” Three entirely negative categories included “creating a climate of distrust; disruption of cultural, social, and religious values; psychosocial disorders.” Overall, most findings (27 out of 32 subcategories) indicated the destructive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on social capital. Therefore, this raises concerns about social capital endangerment in Iran. However, positive social impacts can guide policies that strengthen social action and improve social capital.


2022 ◽  
pp. 61-82
Author(s):  
Petek Tosun

This chapter explores the social media marketing communication of brands in the first days of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak within the theoretical framework provided by signaling theory. The social media content of six Turkish brands was examined by content analysis. The findings have shown that brands shared posts in four themes: brand promotion, brand's COVID-19 messages, product promotion, and special day posts. Brands integrated the COVID-19 agenda in their social media communication in two ways. First, they designed and shared posts that focused solely on the pandemic. These COVID-19-related posts constituted a separate category that did not include any direct relevance to the brands' promotion activities. Second, they added COVID-19-related points in their social media posts. This study provides valuable findings for marketing practitioners and academicians regarding social media communication in a global health crisis.


Two Homelands ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (54) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Della Puppa ◽  
Fabio Perocco

Deriving from multiple ecological-social causes, the novel coronavirus and, subsequently, the COVID-19 pandemic, has affected all spheres of societies of the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered and amplified an economic crisis that existed before the health crisis. The combination of the two crises into a double “ecological-­healthcare” and “socio-economic” crisis has had multiple consequences for everyone on the economic, social, political, and cultural level; however, it has affected social classes, workers, genders, and territories in different ways, deepening social inequalities and worsening the social conditions of disadvantaged social groups: among the most affected social groups, we find migrants.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 390
Author(s):  
Biljana Mojsoska ◽  
Sylvester Larsen ◽  
Dorte Aalund Olsen ◽  
Jonna Skov Madsen ◽  
Ivan Brandslund ◽  
...  

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been declared an international public health crisis. It is essential to develop diagnostic tests that can quickly identify infected individuals to limit the spread of the virus and assign treatment options. Herein, we report a proof-of-concept label-free electrochemical immunoassay for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus via the spike surface protein. The assay consists of a graphene working electrode functionalized with anti-spike antibodies. The concept of the immunosensor is to detect the signal perturbation obtained from ferri/ferrocyanide measurements after binding of the antigen during 45 min of incubation with a sample. The absolute change in the [Fe(CN)6]3−/4− current upon increasing antigen concentrations on the immunosensor surface was used to determine the detection range of the spike protein. The sensor was able to detect a specific signal above 260 nM (20 µg/mL) of subunit 1 of recombinant spike protein. Additionally, it was able to detect SARS-CoV-2 at a concentration of 5.5 × 105 PFU/mL, which is within the physiologically relevant concentration range. The novel immunosensor has a significantly faster analysis time than the standard qPCR and is operated by a portable device which can enable on-site diagnosis of infection.


2020 ◽  
pp. 62-69
Author(s):  
Praveen Kumar Gupta ◽  
B. S. Rithu ◽  
Kauser Banu ◽  
A. Shruthi ◽  
C. Sahana

SARS COV 2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2) has created a global health emergency worldwide due to public health crisis and life-threatening situation. According to a recent study it has been reported that the virus was found originated in animal and transmitted to humans through a food chain. First case was reported in Wuhan-china on December 2019, In this review we have enlightened on different aspects of novel coronavirus 2019 and measure to combat the battle against the novel corona virus 2019.


2020 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 29-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rameshwar S. Cheke ◽  
Sachin Shinde ◽  
Jaya Ambhore ◽  
Vaibhav Adhao ◽  
Dnyaneshwar Cheke

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) or also known as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been recognized as the cause of respiratory infection in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in late December 2019. As of April 5, 2020, this epidemic had spread to worldwide with 12,03,485 confirmed cases, including 62,000 deaths. The World Health Organization has declared it a Global Public Health Crisis. Coronavirus causes respiratory illness coughing, sneezing, breathlessness, and fever including pneumonia. The disease is transmitted person to person through infected droplets. At present, the research on novel coronavirus is still in the primary stage. Based on the published study, we thoroughly summarize the history and origin, microbiology and taxonomy, mode of transmissions, target receptor, clinical features, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment about COVID-19. This short report writes in hope for providing platform to community and researcher dealings against with the novel coronavirus and providing a reference for further studies.


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