According to a recent survey by Monmouth University, Americans are still concerned about coronavirus but have lost faith in federal measures.
As the world enters year three of Covid-19, 70 percent of Americans now believe that “it’s time we accept that Covid is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives,” the poll showed.
The recently-released survey showed that while Americans are still concerned about the pandemic, the majority think it’s time to move on with the virus as part of normal life.
The poll also showed a split along party lines, with 89 percent of Republicans saying it’s time to move forward, in contrast with 47 percent of Democrats. According to the survey, 71 percent of Independents also say it is time to move forward.
Twenty-seven percent said they were somewhat concerned, while twenty-three percent said they were apprehensive about getting sick from one of the new COVID variants.
Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they thought a return to normal life would never happen.
According to a statement from Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, “Americans’ worries about Covid haven’t gone away. It seems more to be a realization that we are not going to get this virus under control in a way that we thought was possible just last year.”
Monmouth’s poll included 794 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
Bipartisan call
Democrat New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said it is time to “learn how to live” with the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re not going to manage this to zero. We have to learn how to live with this,” Murphy said on “Meet the Press.”
Republican Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson echoed the sentiment during his appearance on the show.
“I do believe that we need to move from a pandemic status and mode of operation to more endemic. I think we need to move out of the panic mode. I think we need to handle this and make sure that we continue with our normal lives.”
According to the poll, although concerns about getting sick may have increased, many remain strongly opposed to the vaccine.
Although 45 percent of respondents reported receiving the booster shot, about 37 percent said they would never get it, with 17 percent saying they wouldn’t get the initial vaccination.
According to Monmouth, public opinion for how both the federal health agencies and the president have handled the pandemic continues to fall.
Forty-three percent of survey respondents say President Biden has done a good job handling the pandemic, with 53% saying he has done a bad job. According to the university, public opinion on the president’s handling of the pandemic was evenly split a month prior, with 46 percent disapproving and approving.
