A bare majority of Americans, driven by Democrats, support bringing back masking and social distancing guidelines, according to a Monmouth University Poll conducted before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced its revised recommendations last week. The poll finds that public anxiety about contracting Covid-19 has ticked back […] Read more »
More Republican politicians are endorsing vaccination. It just might work.
Among Americans who have yet to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, Republicans have been most consistently hesitant. The gap in vaccination rates between counties that voted for Joe Biden and those that voted for Donald Trump has only widened over time. … Our research shows that vaccination endorsements from elite […] Read more »
Americans’ Optimism About COVID-19 Dashed as Cases Surge
In a dramatic shift from last month, more Americans now say the coronavirus situation in the U.S. is getting worse (45%) rather than better (40%). In June, a record 89% said the situation was getting better, while only 3% said it was getting worse. The current survey marks the first […] Read more »
The data shows the unvaccinated don’t fear the virus, even as they are most at risk
Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are again rising in the US. All the evidence we have suggests that vaccines help prevent most cases, and those who are unvaccinated are putting themselves at major risk. Yet, all the data we have suggests that it is the unvaccinated who are the least afraid […] Read more »
The Challenge Of Public Health Messaging Amid An Ever-Changing Virus
NPR’s Kelsey Snell talks with public health professor Robert Blendon about mistrust in government health agencies and who unvaccinated Americans might trust to be messengers on the COVID-19 vaccine. NPR News The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up […] Read more »
A Profile in Intractability: Convincing the most vaccine resistant to get the shot is a tall order
Wait, is this July 2020 or 2021? America was on a clear path to reemergence from the long COVID doldrum. Mask wearing was down; social gatherings were up. The vaccine was our savior, a passport to a normal life. But enter the Delta variant – a more cunning and insidious […] Read more »