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Corona pandemic: Only half of the population feel well informed about the current regulations

12/2022, 04.04.2022

BfR-Corona-Monitor provides an insight into the level of information among the people living in Germany

For two years now, much of the media coverage has been dominated by the corona pandemic. Nevertheless, the population in Germany does not feel equally educated about all aspects of the coronavirus. This is shown by the results of the current BfR-Corona-Monitor – a regular survey by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). Accordingly, only 49 percent of the population currently feel well informed about the measures currently in force, 28 percent consider themselves to be not well informed. In contrast, people rate their level of information about the current vaccination recommendations higher: Here, 64 percent say they are well informed. "In this context, we also see differences between different age groups," says BfR-President Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel. "For example, people aged 60 and over feel best informed about the current recommendations for vaccination against the coronavirus, whereas people under 40 feel better informed about its symptoms."

Differences are also evident in the population's sense of security. For example, the end of the regulation on working from home on 20 March is already having an impact: While in the last survey in mid-March 34 percent rated the risk of infection at the workplace as high, this is now 39 percent. They also feel less safe on the way to work: 60 percent currently rate the risk of infection on public transport as high – six percentage points more than a fortnight ago. On the other hand, the evaluation of the risk of infection in catering establishments (35 percent) and in shops for daily needs (24 percent) remained largely unchanged.

To protect themselves from an infection with the coronavirus, respondents continue to rely on hygiene. For example, 94 percent say they have worn masks in the past two weeks, 71 percent have washed their hands more thoroughly and 54 percent have used disinfectants more frequently. In contrast, respondents are less restrictive in their leisure behaviour: 37 percent state that they have left their homes less frequently within the last 14 days.

The BfR has published FAQs on the topic of coronavirus:

About the BfR-Corona-Monitor

The BfR-Corona-Monitor is a recurring (multi-wave) representative survey on the risk perception of the population in Germany towards the novel coronavirus. Every week between 24 March and 26 May 2020, around 500 randomly selected people were asked by telephone about their assessment of the risk of infection and their protective measures, among other things. Since June 2020, the survey is continued every two weeks with about 1,000 respondents each. A summary of the data is regularly published on the homepage of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. More information about the method and sample can be found in publications about the BfR-Corona-Monitor.

About the BfR

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) in Germany. It advises the German federal government and German federal states ("Laender") on questions of food, chemical and product safety. The BfR conducts its own research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.

This text version is a translation of the original German text which is the only legally binding version.

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BfR-Corona-MONITOR

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