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Are You Concerned About Still Contracting COVID-19?
- Very worried.
- Somewhat worred.
- Not worried
In the latest poll, released this week, with “more needles” getting put in arms, just 35 percent of American adults are “very” or “somewhat” worried about contracting COVID-19, the lowest number since the organization began tracking the data in April last year.
According to the poll, 22 percent of Americans are at least “moderately” worried about having access to hospital services and treatments, and only 14 percent are worried about access to COVID-19 tests, all improvements since the pandemic began and in recent months.
The current 35 percent of the population worried about contracting COVID-19 is down 14 percentage points from February, and well off the record-high 59 percent of Americans who voiced concerns about catching the disease last summer when some restrictions were lifted off businesses as the number of new cases plateaued with the warmer weather.
Americans over the age of 65 have shown the least fear in contracting the virus, with just 21 percent expressing concern, down from 46 percent as recently as mid-February. The age groups between 18 and 44 and 45 through 64 have also seen the numbers improve by at least 10 percentage points each.
A total of 50 percent of Democrats said they were “somewhat” or “very” worried about catching COVID-19, down from 69 percent in February, while Republicans saw that number from 27 percent to 17 percent in the past month.
The numbers for those who have received at least one COVID-19 dose or are fully vaccinated have also declined, with 37 percent of partially vaccinated Americans still worried about contracting the virus, while 21 percent of those fully vaccinated are still wary about catching it.
Those who plan to get the vaccine but have not currently done so are the largest subgroup of Americans to be concerned about contracting the disease, with 49 percent showing some misgivings.
Pollsters said that approximately 80 percent of Americans believe the COVID-19 situation is improving, leading to them being less concerned about contracting the virus. The 77 percent who believe the situation is getting better is up from 60 percent in February and 33 percent in January.
Every subgroup polled besides those who do not plan to get vaccinated and Independents found that more than 70 percent believed the situation was getting better as of mid-March.
“Americans have become substantially less worried about contracting COVID-19 as a growing proportion of adults have been fully vaccinated and as satisfaction with the vaccine rollout has improved,” Gallup officials said.
“These shifts have occurred while coronavirus infection rates have fallen substantially from highs reached in January of this year,” they added. “Optimism about the COVID-19 situation has also spiked to a record high.”
The complete results from the Gallup poll can be found here.
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