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On Friday, March 5, about one year after the pandemic began, Gallup released the outcome of its latest national COVID-19 opinion poll.
The survey looked into what American adults are thinking about COVID-19 trends, access to vaccines and tests, and how the pandemic is affecting their lives.
Here are some of the survey’s highlights:
COVID-19
Gallup found that 60 percent of Americans said the COVID-19 situation in the U.S. is improving. This is the most upbeat citizens have felt about the pandemic thus far, the survey said. About 14 percent of respondents said the national COVID-19 situation is getting worse.
“This record-high optimism likely reflects the steep decline in new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. in late January and early February,” Gallup said.
ACCESS CONCERNS
About 22 percent of people surveyed said they are worried about access to COVID-19 tests. The level of concern is down from 60 percent in April 2020.
COVID-19-RELATED DISRUPTIONS
While people are feeling positive about the future, respondents acknowledged the current situation is difficult.
Since June, 7 in 10 U.S. adults have reported experiencing disruptions to their lives due to the pandemic. A little more than half of the people surveyed said they don’t expect life will be back to normal by mid-2021.
Pollsters said that while optimism is high now, it could be knocked down if the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is ineffective.
“Americans became substantially more optimistic in February after the number of U.S. cases dropped. However, in recent days, that number has stopped declining,” Gallup noted. “This, coupled with potential difficulties with the vaccination program or the rapid spread of new variants of the disease, could result in optimism fading rapidly.”
To see the full survey, visit news.gallup.com.
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