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How Americans View the Coronavirus, COVID-19 Vaccines Amid Declining Levels of Concern (the left remains scared)
Pew Research ^ | March 7, 2024 | ALEC TYSON AND GIANCARLO PASQUINI

Posted on 03/09/2024 7:40:39 AM PST by DoodleBob

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that just 20% of Americans view the coronavirus as a major threat to the health of the U.S. population today and only 10% are very concerned they will get it and require hospitalization. This data represents a low ebb of public concern about the virus that reached its height in the summer and fall of 2020, when as many as two-thirds of Americans viewed COVID-19 as a major threat to public health.

Just 28% of U.S. adults say they have received the updated COVID-19 vaccine, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended last fall to protect against serious illness. This stands in stark contrast to the spring and summer of 2021, when long lines and limited availability characterized the initial rollout of the first COVID-19 vaccines. A majority of U.S. adults (69%) had been fully vaccinated by August 2021.

Chart shows Declining share of Americans have the most up-to-date level of protection against the coronavirus

Underscoring the limited demand for the updated COVID-19 vaccines, a larger share of U.S. adults say they’ve gotten a flu shot in the last six months than the updated coronavirus vaccine (44% vs. 28%). And despite a public health push encouraging adults to get both vaccines at the same time, almost half of those who received a flu shot from a health care provider chose not to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine.

The vast majority of Americans have some level of protection from the coronavirus because of vaccination, prior infection or a combination of the two. This has led to a decline in severe illness from the disease.

Still, the virus continues to circulate widely in the United States, with wastewater data suggesting that cases in the early part of 2024 were among the highest they have been since the first omicron wave in 2022.  

Long COVID ranks among the concerns of public health experts. Long COVID refers to a variety of symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog that last longer than a month after a COVID-19 infection.

The survey – conducted among 10,133 U.S. adults from Feb. 7 to 11, 2024 – finds that 50% of Americans say it is extremely or very important for medical researchers and health care providers to understand and treat long COVID; 27% see this as a less important issue and 22% of Americans say they haven’t heard of long COVID.

Continuity and change: Partisan views of COVID-19

Partisanship remains one of the most powerful factors shaping views about COVID-19 vaccines and the virus. But the size and nature of differences between Republicans and Democrats have evolved since earlier stages of the outbreak.

Chart shows Amid waning public concern, smaller partisan gap in views of the public health threat posed by the coronavirus

For instance, the gap between the shares of Democrats and Republicans who view the coronavirus as a major threat to public health has fallen from 37 percentage points in May 2022 to 16 points today. In the pandemic’s first year, Democrats were routinely about 40 points more likely than Republicans to view the coronavirus as a major threat to the health of the U.S. population. This gap has waned as overall levels of concern have fallen.

When it comes to vaccination, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents remain more likely than Republicans and GOP leaners to say they’ve received an updated COVID-19 vaccine (42% vs. 15%). This 27-point gap in recent vaccination is about the same as in January 2022 when 62% of Democrats and 33% of Republicans said they were up to date (i.e., fully vaccinated and recently boosted).

In addition to partisanship, age continues to matter a great deal in attitudes and behaviors tied to the coronavirus. And the intersection of partisanship and age reveals one of the biggest recent changes in the public’s response to the outbreak: a growing divergence between the oldest Republicans and oldest Democrats in vaccine uptake, which is explored below.

COVID-19 vaccination among adults ages 65 and older, by party

Older adults continue to be one of the most at-risk groups for severe illness and death from COVID-19.

Chart shows Sharp decline in share of older Republicans who are up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations

When vaccines first became available in 2021, large majorities of both Republicans and Democrats ages 65 and older said they had received the vaccine. But as additional doses have become available, uptake among older Republicans has declined at a faster rate than among older Democrats.

In the current survey, 66% of Democrats ages 65 and older say they have received the updated COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 24% of Republicans ages 65 and older.

This 42-point partisan gap is much wider now than at other points since the start of the outbreak. For instance, in August 2021, 93% of older Democrats and 78% of older Republicans said they had received all the shots needed to be fully vaccinated (a 15-point gap). Go to the Appendix for more details.

How COVID-19 vaccination varies by age within parties

Chart shows Younger Democrats much less likely than older Democrats to have received new COVID-19 vaccine

The impact of age is also striking when looking within political parties.

Among Democrats, about three-in-ten adults under 50 have received an updated COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 48% of those ages 50 to 64 and 66% of Democrats ages 65 and older.

Age differences within the GOP run in the same direction, but are much more modest, reflecting, in part, low overall levels of vaccine uptake.

How COVID-19 vaccination varies by race and ethnicity

Similar shares of White (28%), Black (29%) and Hispanic (27%) adults say they have gotten the updated vaccine. English-speaking Asian adults (35%) are slightly more likely to report receiving the updated vaccine.

As in past Center surveys, there are racial and ethnic differences in vaccine uptake among Democrats.

For instance, 50% of White Democrats and 42% of English-speaking Asian Democrats report having received the updated vaccine, compared with somewhat smaller shares of Black and Hispanic Democrats (32% each).

Views of long COVID

Half of Americans say it is extremely or very important for medical researchers and health care providers to understand and treat long COVID, considering all the different priorities they face.

Chart shows Half of Americans say it is extremely or very important for medical professionals to address long COVID

About two-in-ten (21%) say it’s somewhat important for those in medicine to address long COVID, while 6% say it is not too or not at all important. Another 22% say they haven’t heard of long COVID.

More Democrats (61%) than Republicans (37%) say it is extremely or very important for medical researchers and health care providers to understand and treat long COVID.

A majority of women (56%) consider this extremely or very important; a smaller share of men (44%) say the same. The CDC has reported that women are more likely than men to develop long COVID symptoms.

Awareness of long COVID also shapes views on its importance: Those who have heard a lot about long COVID are more likely than those who have heard a little about it to say it’s extremely or very important for medical professional to address it (76% vs. 60%).

Views of the threat posed by the coronavirus

Chart shows 1 in 5 Americans now say the coronavirus is a major threat to public health

One-in-five Americans now say the coronavirus is a major threat to the health of the U.S. population, down from a high of 67% in July 2020.

Concern about the coronavirus as a major threat to the U.S. economy has also declined dramatically. Today, 23% of Americans say it’s a major threat to the economy, compared with 88% in May 2020. The pandemic spurred an economic recession in 2020 and a spike in unemployment that reached the highest levels since the Great Recession.

Federal policy on the coronavirus has changed as public concern – and the incidence of severe illness – has fallen. The Biden administration ended the public health emergency for the coronavirus pandemic in May 2023. And the CDC recently released updated guidelines with shorter isolation periods for adults testing positive for the disease.

While large partisan gaps characterized views of the coronavirus as a major threat to public health for much of the pandemic, those gaps were far smaller on views of the virus as a major threat to the economy. In the current survey, just a 6-point gap separates Republicans and Democrats with this view (20% vs. 26%, respectively) – similar to the 9-point party gap seen in May 2022.

Personal concern about getting or spreading COVID-19

About a quarter of Americans (27%) are very or somewhat concerned about getting a serious case of COVID-19 that would require hospitalization. A somewhat higher share (40%) say they are very or somewhat concerned they might spread the coronavirus to other people without knowing it.

Chart shows Long-term decline in concern about getting a serious case of COVID-19 or unknowingly spreading it

Levels of concern for getting or spreading the coronavirus are about the same as they were in March 2023 and remain down dramatically from early in the pandemic.

The share of Americans who are very or somewhat concerned about getting a serious case is 26 points lower than in November 2020, before a COVID-19 vaccine was available to the public. And the share of Americans who are at least somewhat concerned about spreading COVID-19 without knowing it is down 24 points since November 2020.

Still, the current data shows how the virus remains a concern in daily life for many Americans, more than four years after the first confirmed coronavirus cases appeared in the U.S.

Consistent with past Center surveys, there are demographic and political differences in personal concern about getting a serious case of COVID-19 and unknowingly spreading the virus:

Chart shows Democrats much more concerned than Republicans about risk of unknowingly spreading COVID-19

Some of the groups most personally concerned about getting a severe case of COVID-19 are also among the groups most concerned about the public health threat from the coronavirus. For example, Black adults and adults with lower incomes express more concern about the personal health and public health impact of the coronavirus than White adults and those with upper incomes.

Uptake of the flu shot

Chart shows Majorities of the oldest U.S. adults got a flu shot this year and say they typically get one annually

The survey finds 44% of U.S. adults say they have gotten a flu shot since August. This share is down slightly from last March, when 49% of Americans said they had recently gotten a flu shot.

Uptake varies by the following factors:

The flu shot and updated COVID-19 vaccines are both recommended to protect against severe illness, but Americans approach these vaccines differently.

Chart shows Republicans are much more likely to get the flu shot than the updated COVID-19 vaccine

Americans are more likely to report that they received a flu shot than the updated COVID-19 vaccine this year (44% vs. 28%).

This gap in uptake between the flu shot and updated COVID-19 vaccine is more pronounced among Republicans than Democrats.

Republicans are more than twice as likely to say they’ve gotten a flu shot since August as to say they’ve received an updated COVID-19 vaccine (37% vs. 15%). Among Democrats, this difference is more modest (53% vs. 42%).


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: chinavirus; chinavirusvaccine; covid1984; pewresearch
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Sorry for the size of the graphics.
1 posted on 03/09/2024 7:40:39 AM PST by DoodleBob
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To: DoodleBob

Proudly UN-jabbed, and will remain so. Woe to he who tries to jab me.


2 posted on 03/09/2024 7:53:41 AM PST by bk1000 (Banned from Breitbart)
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To: DoodleBob

One thing this covid hoax has done is make me suspicious of all vaccines, I’m over 65 and will probably never get another vaccine in my lifetime. Of course I was thoroughly vaccinated courtesy of the US Army.


3 posted on 03/09/2024 7:58:36 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage? (Drain the Swamp. Build the Wall.)
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To: bk1000

I wonder how the level of fear relates to the news consumed.


4 posted on 03/09/2024 7:59:55 AM PST by gundog ( It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: DoodleBob

I’m stunned at how many people here in MASKachusetts are still wearing masks, it’s unbelievable to me and how many of them are “Karens” who freak out if you get within 20 feet of them.


5 posted on 03/09/2024 8:01:42 AM PST by rockabyebaby (THE BEST IS YET TO COME - (PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP))
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To: DoodleBob

Fake news. Trump stood before Iowans and spoke of the billions saved worldwide by his authorization of operation warp speed
He won. Freedom from the pharma CIA military complex lost.
If you doubt that.. ask yourself honestly if you would’ve masked, locked down and taken a genetic vax under Obama or Biden.


6 posted on 03/09/2024 8:01:54 AM PST by momincombatboots (BQEphesians 6... who you are really at war with. )
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Thank you for your service.


7 posted on 03/09/2024 8:02:30 AM PST by rockabyebaby (THE BEST IS YET TO COME - (PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP))
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To: momincombatboots

Huh?

This is a poll.


8 posted on 03/09/2024 8:03:32 AM PST by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
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To: DoodleBob

never worried about covid at all. only the clotshot.


9 posted on 03/09/2024 8:04:07 AM PST by Qwapisking ("IF the Second goes first the First goes second" L.Star )
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To: gundog

IF the news consumed was food it would be mostly empty calories.


10 posted on 03/09/2024 8:06:09 AM PST by Qwapisking ("IF the Second goes first the First goes second" L.Star )
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To: DoodleBob

The people I know who supposedly call their illness “long covid” were vaxed.

I am repulsed by those running around in masks and getting all skittish.

They were the easily brainwashed. Not all of them are old people as some think. I see more young people.


11 posted on 03/09/2024 8:06:22 AM PST by dforest
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To: DoodleBob

20% of the population supports the extermination of the other 80% of the Earth population..who are not frothing leftards.


12 posted on 03/09/2024 8:11:20 AM PST by Leep (Kill ALL Fakestinians!)
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To: Qwapisking

Well,and the handful of people who partially flipped out cause I got within 10 feet of them.


13 posted on 03/09/2024 8:13:53 AM PST by Leep (Kill ALL Fakestinians!)
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To: DoodleBob

Many valid points.

Democrats, Jiberals, Covid cloth mask Karens are still brainwashed into believing that their leaders have their best interests at heart. They feel that the disease response was good and appropriate and disregard anything that contradicts their Beliefs in THe Science, which is more correctly described as The Propaganda, They have a legitimate fear of death, primarily because they fear an unknown afterlife. “Doing good” alone doesn’t get anyone to Heaven. Most will purport to “believe in God” but truly many are just humanists and not Christian. Sidenote, it’s how they rationalize abortion not being killing.

FYI,, married to a cloth masked Karen liberal, i foolishly got an original Moderna mRNA injection series, and stopped taking weekly ivermectin, within six weeks got a short version of Covid the first time, treated with ivermectin until thought i was over it, stopped, got Covid a second time within six months, more long standing and chronic, and while ivermectin aided in lessening the severity, i progressed to long Covid lung , cardiac, and vascular issues to this day close to three years later. I have had some other chronic issues showing up, that i understand may be more related to mRNA injection than actual vaccine disease. I have worked virtually every day of my adult life.

I did not realize how evil those in government are, until it becomes so obvious that it can’t be ignored.
I have Grace and Redemption. My time will come when it’s time.


14 posted on 03/09/2024 8:14:52 AM PST by drSteve78 (Je suis Deplorable. Even more so)
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To: drSteve78

Add: i had only two Moderna injections one moth apart, and my health has been in decline from two weeks (first reaction) after the series .


15 posted on 03/09/2024 8:19:25 AM PST by drSteve78 (Je suis Deplorable. Even more so)
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To: DoodleBob

Even the most thick skulled dullard should realize after Big Pharma’s mouthpiece, the CDC, announced a couple of weeks ago that Covid was just the flu, the vaxx was only part of the scamdemic.


16 posted on 03/09/2024 8:20:25 AM PST by hardspunned (Former DC GOP globalist stooge)
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To: DoodleBob
Kept up with the official stats and regularly calculated the actual mortality rate for the SARS CoV2 "event" which was forecast to have a mortality rate of 3.4 percent.

Over three years, and using government numbers only, the actual mortality rate is less than one tenth of one percent.

This was a media event, a media-induced hysteria and a media-driven attack on all who would question the whole "narrative."

17 posted on 03/09/2024 8:25:32 AM PST by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: hardspunned

It’s been the Greatest Hoax ever perpetrated on Humanity....
.
Until the Next one.


18 posted on 03/09/2024 8:28:36 AM PST by Big Red Badger (ALL Things Will be Revealed !)
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To: Worldtraveler once upon a time

One Tenth of One Percent....
.
Wow-— I believe it.


19 posted on 03/09/2024 8:30:16 AM PST by Big Red Badger (ALL Things Will be Revealed !)
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To: DoodleBob

No problem. Easier to read.

Thanks for posting this.


20 posted on 03/09/2024 8:31:10 AM PST by laplata (They want each crisis to take the greatest toll possible.)
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