1. Figure/Table Legend, Error in Figure/Table
In the original publication [1], there were mistakes in the legends for Figure 1 and Table 1. The authors mistakenly translated the FCV-19S scale from Polish to English, confusing it with a scale of their authorship. The correct legends appear below.
Figure 1. Participants agreement on seven items of The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S).
Table 1. Assessment of fear of COVID-19 infection, based on FCV-19S.
In the original publication, there was a mistake in Figure 1 as published. The corrected Figure 1 appears below.
Figure 1.
Participants agreement on seven items of The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S).
In the original publication, there was a mistake in Table 1 as published. The corrected Table 1 appears below.
Table 1.
Assessment of fear of COVID-19 infection, based on FCV-19S.
| Questionnaire Item, n (%) | Statistics |
|---|---|
| 1. I am most afraid of COVID-19, Me (IQR) | 4 (3–4) |
| Strongly disagree (1 point) | 18 (3.6%) |
| Disagree (2 points) | 55 (11.0%) |
| Neither agree nor disagree (3 points) | 137 (27.4%) |
| Agree (4 points) | 201 (40.2%) |
| Strongly agree (5 points) | 89 (17.8%) |
| 2. It makes me uncomfortable to think about COVID-19, Me (IQR) | 4 (3–4) |
| Strongly disagree (1 point) | 22 (4.4%) |
| Disagree (2 points) | 77 (15.4%) |
| Neither agree nor disagree (3 points) | 112 (22.4%) |
| Agree (4 points) | 220 (44.0%) |
| Strongly agree (5 points) | 69 (13.8%) |
| 3. My hands become clammy when I think about COVID-19, Me (IQR) | 2 (1–2) |
| Strongly disagree (1 point) | 192 (38.4%) |
| Disagree (2 points) | 193 (38.6%) |
| Neither agree nor disagree (3 points) | 72 (14.4%) |
| Agree (4 points) | 37 (7.4%) |
| Strongly agree (5 points) | 6 (1.2%) |
| 4. I am afraid of losing my life because of COVID-19, Me (IQR) | 3 (2–4) |
| Strongly disagree (1 point) | 73 (14.6%) |
| Disagree (2 points) | 120 (24.0%) |
| Neither agree nor disagree (3 points) | 179 (35.8%) |
| Agree (4 points) | 94 (18.8%) |
| Strongly agree (5 points) | 34 (6.8%) |
| 5. When I watch news and stories about COVID-19 on social media, I become nervous or anxious, Me (IQR) | 3 (2–4) |
| Strongly disagree (1 point) | 44 (8.8%) |
| Disagree (2 points) | 124 (24.8%) |
| Neither agree nor disagree (3 points) | 142 (28.4%) |
| Agree (4 points) | 155 (31.0%) |
| Strongly agree (5 points) | 35 (7.0%) |
| 6. I cannot sleep because I’m worrying about getting COVID-19, Me (IQR) | 2 (1–3) |
| Strongly disagree (1 point) | 135 (27.4%) |
| Disagree (2 points) | 199 (39.8%) |
| Neither agree nor disagree (3 points) | 101 (20.2%) |
| Agree (4 points) | 49 (9.8%) |
| Strongly agree (5 points) | 14 (2.8%) |
| 7. My heart races or palpitates when I think about getting COVID-19, Me (IQR) | 2 (1–3) |
| Strongly disagree (1 point) | 132 (26.4%) |
| Disagree (2 points) | 175 (35.0%) |
| Neither agree nor disagree (3 points) | 116 (23.2%) |
| Agree (4 points) | 63 (12.6%) |
| Strongly agree (5 points) | 14 (2.8%) |
| The total assessment of fear of COVID-19 infection (total points): | |
| M ± SD | 19.3 ± 5.6 |
| Me (IQR) | 19 (15–23) |
| Min–Max | 7–35 |
2. Missing Citation
In the original publication, [13] Ahorsu, D.K.; Lin, C.Y.; Imani, V.; Saffari, M.; Griffiths, M.D.; Pakpour, A.H. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale: Development and Initial Validation. Int. J. Ment. Health Addict. 2020, 1–9, Epub ahead of print, was not cited. The citation has now been inserted into Section 2.3, and should read:
“To assess the fear of COVID-19 in the senior population, we used “Fear of COVID-19 Scale” (FCV-19S) [13].”
3. Text Correction
There was an error in the original publication. The authors mistakenly translated the FCV-19S scale from Polish to English, confusing it with a scale of their authorship.
A correction has been made to Abstract:
Line 7: Perceived fear of COVID-19 was measured using Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), which ranges from 7 to 35.
A correction has been made to Section 2.3:
“To assess the fear of COVID-19 in the senior population, we used “Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) [13]. Participants stated their position in a questionnaire using a five point scale, ranging from “1—strongly disagree”, “3—neither agree nor disagree” to “5—strongly agree”. Hence, the cumulative score ranged from 7 to 35, where the higher the score, the greater the fear of COVID-19. The answers to the Fear of COVID-19 Scale are presented in Table 1.”
A correction has been made to Section 3.2:
“Many different factors contribute to the perception of fear and anxiety due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, including sociodemographic factors, health conditions, and mental health. Based on the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), we determined that 201 people were afraid of COVID-19 infection (201/500; 40.2%), and 89 participants were strongly afraid of COVID-19 infection (89/600; 17.8%). Eighteen people did not show any concerns about the pandemic (18/500; 3.6%); they did not care about the potential dangers of contact with other people. This result is in line with another question from FCV-19S, regarding feeling uncomfortable while thinking about COVID-19 infection. There were 220 participants who agreed (220/500; 44.0%) and 69 participants who strongly agreed with this statement (69/500; 13.8%). The fear of COVID-19 infection may be seen by the exhibition of different symptoms at different levels. Thus, other statements of FCV-19S included questions if patients’ hands become clammy when thinking about COVID-19 disease or if they had insomnia or rapid heartbeat because of worrying about COVID-19. However, according to our analysis, only 37 reported their hands become clammy when thinking about COVID-19 infection (27/500; 7.4%) and six people strongly agreed with this statement (6/500; 1.2%). Furthermore, 49 people reported suffering from insomnia, likely due to the threat of COVID-19 infection (49/500; 9.8%). For 14 people, it was obvious that insomnia was caused by the fear of getting sick (14/600; 2.8%). Fear of death caused by COVID-19 infection was observed in 94 respondents (94/500; 18.8%), and 34 people strongly agreed with this statement (34/500; 6.8%). The Fear of COVID-19 Scale also determined the impact of social media on the presence of anxiousness of COVID-19 infection. Watching news and stories regarding COVID-19 infection was the reason for the threat for 155 respondents (155/500; 31.0%). Participants’ reported agreement on the seven items of FCV-19 Scale is shown in Figure 1. It is worth noting many respondents reported “Neither agree nor disagree” for all statements and questions included in the questionnaire (Table 1).”
4. References
Reference No. 13 has been changed from [2] to [3].
The authors apologize for any inconvenience caused, and state that the scientific conclusions are unaffected. This correction was approved by the Academic Editor. The original publication has also been updated.
Footnotes
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References
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