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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Cartier at the V&A: a 'dazzling' showThe Week Recommends A 'once-in-a-lifetime' display of the French jeweller's 'exquisite' objects
-
Blue Origin all-female flight: one giant leap back for womankind?Talking Point 'Morally vacuous' celeb space crew embody defeat for feminism
-
Rockliffe Hall's soothing sleep retreatThe Week Recommends From guided meditation to a calming massage, this spa break will have you nodding off in no time
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measlesSpeed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study findsSpeed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influenceSpeed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
-
Five years on: How Covid changed everythingFeature We seem to have collectively forgotten Covid’s horrors, but they have completely reshaped politics
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreadsSpeed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozensSpeed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study findsSpeed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
