The majority of Americans believe that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory, but they are sharply divided along partisan and educational lines regarding details related to the pandemic, according to a recent poll.
The poll conducted by YouGov in May indicates that 58% of Americans believe that the novel coronavirus appeared in a Chinese lab, a rise from 49% when YouGov first posed the question in May 2020. Only 43% of Democrats believe in the lab leak theory, compared to 77% of Republicans. Independents lean more toward the Republican viewpoint, with 65% now believing that the virus leaked from a lab.
Additionally, 24% of Americans think that the virus was deliberately released from the lab, while 30% believe it leaked due to an accidental mistake. Only 13% said that the virus developed naturally in the wild, with one-third of respondents indicating they have no answer regarding the origin of the virus.
Americans with higher educational attainment were more likely to believe in the virus's "natural" origin, as 25% of postgraduate degree holders stated this is the theory they subscribe to regarding the origin of COVID-19. Moreover, Americans with higher education were also the most confident in their answers, with only 27% expressing uncertainty about the virus's source. Conversely, most Americans who have only completed high school reported uncertainty about where the pandemic began, but those with an opinion tended to believe that the coronavirus was deliberately leaked from the lab.
