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Public misapprehension about epidemic disease is routine, often even more so when the facts are as mutable, fast-moving, and frightening as they are with COVID-19. About 6000 U.S. and British adults completed an online COVID-19 questionnaire between February 23 and March 2, 2020. (During this week, the epidemic was peaking in China but had caused only localized illness in both the U.S. and the U.K.) The majority of respondents were white, younger than 60, and had at least some college education and represented a broad range of household income.
Most respondents could correctly identify the symptoms of COVID-19, the mode of transmission, and the recommended preventive maneuvers. Still, many misperceptions were identified: About 40% of respond…