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What Is the Support for Conspiracy Beliefs About COVID-19 Vaccines in Latin America? A Prospective Exploratory Study in 13 Countries
Author(s)
Tomás Caycho‐Rodríguez
José Ventura‐León
Pablo D. Valencia
Lindsey W. Vilca
Carlos Carbajal‐León
Mario Reyes-Bossio
Michaël White
Claudio Rojas-Jara
Roberto Polanco-Carrasco
Miguel Gallegos
Mauricio Cervigni
Pablo Martino
Diego Alejandro Palacios
Rodrigo Moreta‐Herrera
Antonio Samaniego-Pinho
Marlon Elías Lobos-Rivera
Andrés Buschiazzo Figares
Diana Ximena Puerta-Cortés
Ibraín Enrique Corrales-Reyes
Raymundo Calderón
Bismarck Pinto
Walter L. Arias Gallegos
Olimpia Petzold
Date Issued
6 de mayo de 2022
Type
Article
Volume
13
Start Page
855713
End Page
855713
Abstract
Conspiracy theories about COVID-19 began to emerge immediately after the first news about the disease and threaten to prolong the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by limiting people's willingness of receiving a life-saving vaccine. In this context, this study aimed to explore the variation of conspiracy beliefs regarding COVID-19 and the vaccine against it in 5779 people living in 13 Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela) according to sociodemographic variables such as gender, age, educational level and source of information about COVID-19. The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic between September 15 and October 25, 2021. The Spanish-language COVID-19 Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (ECCV-COVID) and a sociodemographic survey were used. The results indicate that, in most countries, women, people with a lower educational level and those who receive information about the vaccine and COVID-19 from family/friends are more supportive of conspiracy ideas regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. In the case of age, the results vary by country. The analysis of the responses to each of the questions of the ECCV-COVID reveals that, in general, the countries evaluated are mostly in some degree of disagreement or indecision regarding conspiratorial beliefs about COVID-19 vaccines. The findings could help open further study which could support prevention and treatment efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords