Thursday, Jul. 15, 2021
Do recent polls find that more Americans have come to believe that the coronavirus came from a lab in China?
Recent polls suggest that around half of Americans believe the coronavirus intentionally or unintentionally originated in a Chinese lab—up from an April Pew poll where 29% of respondents said the virus that causes COVID-19 was "most likely…made in a lab."
In a Politico/Harvard poll in late June, 52% of respondents attributed COVID-19 to "a laboratory leak in China."In an early June Morning Consult poll, 46% of respondents agreed that "the coronavirus spilled from a virology lab in China."In an Economist/YouGov poll from early June, 58% of respondents said that it was "definitely" or "probably" true that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab.
The jump follows reports that Wuhan scientists were hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms in November 2019, before the disease was identified. President Biden stated that his administration has not ruled out a "laboratory accident" as the possible origin of the disease.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Pew Research Nearly three-in-ten Americans believe COVID-19 was made in a lab
- Politico Part III: The public's views on the origins of the COVID-19 virus
- Morning Consult As COVID-19 Origins Get Another Look, Nearly Half of the Public Backs Wuhan Lab Leak Theory
- YouGov Most Americans now believe the coronavirus originated from a laboratory in China
- Reuters Wuhan lab staff sought hospital care before COVID-19 outbreak disclosed - WSJ
- White House Statement by President Joe Biden on the Investigation into the Origins of COVID-19
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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