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		</div><p>Developing a working Covid-19 vaccine “might not be enough” to end the pandemic unless steps are taken by governments and technology firms to tackle coronavirus misinformation, scientists have warned.</p>
<p>In a study involving five countries, which also includes the UK, scientists have found “a clear link” between Covid-19 conspiracy theories and hesitancy around future coronavirus vaccines.<br />
The research, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, also found that older people and those who are good with numbers are better at spotting fake coronavirus news.</p>
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<p>Dr Sander van der Linden, who is director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab and one of the authors on the study, said: “Certain misinformation claims are consistently seen as reliable by substantial sections of the public.</p>
<p>“We find a clear link between believing coronavirus conspiracies and hesitancy around any future vaccine.<br />
“As well as flagging false claims, governments and technology companies should explore ways to increase digital media literacy in the population.<br />
“Otherwise, developing a working vaccine might not be enough.”</p>
<p>Scientists from the University of Cambridge looked at survey data from 5,000 people across five countries – the UK, the US, Ireland, Mexico and Spain.</p>
<p>The participants were asked to rate the reliability of several statements, including six popular myths about Covid-19.<br />
While a majority of those surveyed judged the misinformation to be unreliable, the researchers said they found certain conspiracy theories to have taken hold in “significant portions of the population”.</p>
<blockquote><p>As well as flagging false claims, governments and technology companies should explore ways to increase digital media literacy in the population. Otherwise, developing a working vaccine might not be enough</p></blockquote>
<p>The claim that Covid-19 was engineered in a lab in Wuhan, China, was deemed “reliable” by 22-23% of respondents in the UK and US.<br />
This rose to 26% in Ireland, 36% in Mexico and 37% in Spain, the researchers said.<br />
Meanwhile, 13% of those surveyed in the UK thought the pandemic was a part of a plot to enforce global vaccination, along with 22% in Mexico and 18% in Ireland, Spain and the US.</p>
<p>The 5G conspiracy, which claims that some telecommunication towers are worsening Covid-19 symptoms, was found to hold sway over 16% of the participants in both Mexico and Spain, 12% in Ireland, and 8% in both the UK and US.</p>
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