51 percent of unvaccinated individuals think the COVID-19 vaccine contains a microchip

In the latest in head-scratching news, one in five Americans believes the COVID-19 vaccine contains a microchip, a recent Economist/YouGov poll reveals.

When respondents were asked how likely they thought it to be true that "the U.S. government is using [the vaccine] to microchip the population," 20 percent of U.S. adults said they thought it "definitely/probably true" and 14 percent weren't sure. 66 percent denied such a claim as "definitely/probably false." Notably, when broken down by vaccination status, 51 percent of "vaccine rejectors" believed the microchip theory, as opposed to just 9 percent of those who are fully vaccinated.

On a more broad level, 85 percent of those who don't want to get vaccinated believed the "threat of the coronavirus was exaggerated for political reasons."

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The Economist and YouGov surveyed 1,500 people between July 10-13, 2021. Results have a margin of error of approximately 3 percent. See more results at YouGov.