Almost half of Slovaks believe that the novel coronavirus was likely produced in a laboratory, whereas 38.6 percent agree with a statement that statistics on COVID-19 deaths are artificially inflated, it follows from a survey titled Values and Society During COVID-19 Pandemic (HODYSE 2020) conducted by Slovak Academy of Sciences' (SAV) Sociological Institute, TASR has learnt from SAV spokesperson Monika Tinakova. The respondents were asked to voice their opinion on the seven most popular conspiracy theories about the current outbreak. Almost one third of them (32.2 percent) agreed with a statement that the pandemic is part of a global conspiracy aimed at making vaccinations mandatory.
More than one-fifth of respondents (21.9 percent) believe that the vaccinations against coronavirus are a preparation for having the population implanted with chips. Only a smallest group of respondents (7.5 percent) agreed with a notion that COVID-19 symptoms are in fact the effects of the radiation of 5G networks. A relatively small group (15.2 percent) also thinks that there is absolutely no evidence COVID-19 exists. The survey was carried out in November 3-10 on a sample of 1,021 respondents and is representative of the Slovak population aged 18+.
