Table 2.
Vaccination misinformation and vaccine conspiracy theory (c) items and loadings on the misinformation factor (coded as reflecting greater misinformation).
| Item | Loading |
|---|---|
| Vaccines in general are full of toxins and harmful ingredients like antifreeze | 0.766 |
| It’s safer to get the COVID-19 vaccine than to get COVID-19 a | 0.753 |
| Vaccines give to children for diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella do NOT cause autism a | 0.569 |
| Increased vaccinations are why so many kids have autism these days | 0.726 |
| Allergic reactions to authorized vaccines against COVID-19 are very rarea | 0.627 |
| Getting a flu shot increases your risk of contracting COVID-19 | 0.686 |
| COVID-19 vaccine changes people’s DNA | 0.678 |
| The pharmaceutical industry created the coronavirus to increase sales of its drugs and vaccines (c) | 0.764 |
| Vaccines approved for use in the U.S. are safea | 0.762 |
| The Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines contain fetal tissue | 0.640 |
| The vaccine against COVID-19 being developed with support by Microsoft founder Bill Gates contains microchips that can track the person who has been vaccinated (c) | 0.765 |
| COVID-19 vaccines are effective in preventing COVID-19a | 0.747 |
| Taking a COVID-19 vaccine can give you COVID-19 | 0.714 |
a
Item was reverse scored to reflect misinformation.