Public Perception Regarding COVID-19, Nature of the Disease, Susceptibility to Complications, and Relationship to Influenza: A Study from Jordan Using Google Forms

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic and had spread to most of the globe. In the current study, perception regarding the nature of the COVID-19 disease, susceptibility to its complications, and its relationship to seasonal influenza was investigated among the Jordanian population. METHODS: This was a survey-based cross-sectional study among public in Jordan. RESULTS: A total of 1863 participants agreed to participate in this questionnaire-based study. The results showed that more than half (55%) of the sample believed that COVID-19 is a naturally occurring virus which causes a serious and possibly fatal disease (50.7%). The majority (62.9%) did not accept that this disease is actually caused by bacteria, or is similar to seasonal influenza. Interestingly, 45.0% of the sampled population felt that the COVID-19 virus was engineered in the lab. Most of the participants (95%) agreed that the elderly or individuals with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease were more susceptible to severe COVID-19 infections. With respect to symptoms, about two-thirds of the participants (65.2%) felt that the symptoms of COVID-19 are to a large extent similar to those of seasonal influenza. In addition, the majority (82.7%) believed that only some COVID-19 patients develop symptoms that can be described as severe. Factors such as age, gender, and education were found to modulate some of the perceptions of Jordanians regarding different aspects of COVID-19 disease. CONCLUSION: The majority of Jordanians have a good perception about the nature, cause and symptoms of COVID-19 disease.