ALMOST ONE in three people in Ireland believe the government exaggerated Covid-19 related deaths, new research shows.
11% of people in Ireland also believe that the symptoms that most people blame on coronavirus appear to be linked to 5G network radiation, while one in ten people in Ireland said they would never get a vaccine for coronavirus.
At the upper end of believing the government exaggerating deaths relating to the virus is Poland, where 43% of people believe the government is exaggerating the number of deaths.
The research from PERITIA, which was gathered in January 2022, analysed public attitudes towards the pandemic, and surveyed members of the public in the UK, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Italy and Germany.
75% of people in Ireland think that all scientists agree that vaccines are safe, while 16% believe that to be false. 8% do not know if nearly all scientists agree that vaccines are safe.
38% of people in are very worried about the impact of the pandemic on their Ireland as a country, while 33% are very worried about its impact on them personally. 33% are also very worried about its impact on future generations.
66% of people stated that they 'always' stuck to coronavirus restrictions put in place by the Irish government, while 6% said they would 'never' stick to restrictions.
Ireland also had high rates of mask-wearing, with 78% of people saying they always wear a mask in public. People in Ireland were also more likely to frequently sanitise their hands, with 69% of people stating that they always frequently wash or sanitise their hands for at least 40 seconds.
Most people in Ireland get their information on the pandemic form TV, followed by radio, newspapers and social media.
Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said:
“Despite the pandemic lasting much longer than many anticipated, this has not been enough time to convince everyone of certain established facts about Covid-19 and the response to the virus.
"Across both the UK and other European countries included in this study, there is a stubborn minority who still question not only the scientific consensus on vaccine safety but also government reporting of Covid deaths, while around one in six still believe the debunked conspiracy theory of a link between 5G and coronavirus.
"Building trust in expertise, so that people are able to recognise and accept reliable information, is crucial during a public health crisis and should be a priority for policymakers and scientists if we’re to better deal with the threats of the future.”
