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| - INTRODUCTION: Perceptions of health risks inform decisions about protective behaviors, but coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was an unfamiliar risk as it began to spread across the U.S. In the initial stage of the epidemic, authors examined perceived risks for COVID-19 infection and infection fatality, and whether these risk perceptions are associated with protective behaviors. They also examined whether findings differed between later versus earlier responders. METHODS: Between March 10 and 31, 2020, investigators conducted a cross-sectional online survey with a nationally representative U.S. sample (N=6,684). Half responded before March 13, 2020 (versus later). Participants assessed their risks of COVID-19 infection and infection fatality (0%–100%), and were transformed into quartiles (1–4). They reported their implementation of protective behaviors like handwashing and social distancing (yes/no). Analyses were conducted in April‒May 2020. RESULTS: Median perceived risk was 10.00% for COVID-19 infection and 5.00% for infection fatality, but respondents showed large disagreement. An increase of one quartile in perceived infection risk was associated with being 1.45 (95% CI=1.33, 1.58) more likely to report handwashing, with perceived infection fatality risk showing no significant association. When predicting social distancing behaviors such as avoiding crowds, both quartile-based risk perceptions were significant (OR=1.24, 95% CI=1.17, 1.30 for infection and OR=1.19, 95% CI=1.13, 1.26 for infection fatality). Perceived COVID-19 infection risk, protective behaviors, and their relationship increased among later (versus earlier) responders. CONCLUSIONS: Despite disagreements about the risks, people perceiving greater risks were more likely to implement protective behaviors—especially later (versus earlier) in March 2020. These findings have implications for risk communication.
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