Five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 60% of Americans believe it has ended and almost the same number are worried about another global epidemic happening in their lifetime, a Gallup poll released Friday showed.
The survey of 5,876 adults taken Feb. 18-26 found that 59% said the pandemic is over, with 41% saying it's not. Similarly, 58% said they're concerned about another global pandemic occurring in their lifetime, with 41% saying they're not. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.
Gallup said the latest results reveal that Americans' views on the issue have not changed from a year ago.
The poll found that 79% of Republicans said the pandemic is over, with only 43% of Democrats and 61% of independents agreeing.
The script is flipped regarding concerns about a next global pandemic, with 78% of Democrats saying they're concerned, and only 34% of Republicans and 57% of independents agreeing.
The poll showed 72% of respondents said they've had, or suspect they've had, COVID-19 at least once, with 28% saying they have never had the virus.
Among those who said they had COVID-19, 16% said they tested positive without having symptoms, with 11% saying they experienced symptoms that lasted three months or longer, and 2% saying they were admitted to a hospital after being infected.
The poll showed that 79% said they are not concerned about catching the virus again, with 21% saying they are worried, results that remained essentially unchanged from a year ago.
Just 5% said they "always" or "very often" wear a mask outside their home and 13% said they wear a mask sometimes, with 28% saying they rarely wear a mask and 54% saying they never do.
About half of those polled said they received a COVID-19 shot in the past six months or plan to receive one soon.
According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.2 million American deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 since January 2020.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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