DFP Coronavirus Response Tracking Poll Week 69

By Brian Schaffner Tufts University

Summary

American behaviors and attitudes appear to be mixed in the midst of a “re-opening” summer that is increasingly happening under a cloud of increasing cases from the delta variant. 23% of Americans now report that they are very worried about contracting coronavirus (up from 19% in May) and 40% say they are very concerned about the pandemic (up from 34% in May). While on the uptick, these levels of worry and concern are still lower than what we recorded as recently as March of this year.

While vaccines have helped reassure many Americans, the country continues to lag in its vaccination efforts. About 30% of adults continue to report that they are unlikely to get the vaccine (22% say they are very unlikely to do so). Incentives, such as the $100 that President Biden proposed last week, appear to be only minimally effective with this group of holdouts. Just 15% of adults who say they are unlikely to be vaccinated report that they would be likely to do so if offered a $100 incentive. In this context, vaccine mandates are not only more likely to be effective, but also appear to be relatively popular. 58% of Americans agree that “Employers should require proof of a COVID-19 vaccine in the health care, food service, and other industries that involve contact with patients or the general public.” Just 29% oppose employers mandating vaccines for their employees. Mandates are overwhelmingly supported by Democrats but they divide Republicans; 46% of Republicans support employer vaccine mandates while 39% are opposed.

Social distancing behaviors dropped off considerably in the past few months. 38% of American adults now report that they are socializing in public places and only 52% say that they are avoiding physical contact with people. Notably, un-vaccinated Americans are just as likely to report that they are socializing in public places as those who are vaccinated. We have also seen a significant drop in the share of Americans who are wearing masks in public places and avoiding crowds. (To examine trends in social distancing by different political and demographic groups, click here.)

Finally, the bipartisan infrastructure bill has grabbed headlines over the past few weeks and the legislation appears to be incredibly popular, receiving support from 72% of Americans. The bill’s support comes from Democrats and Republicans alike. 60% of Republicans support the infrastructure agreement while 86% of Democrats are on board with the deal. If passed, this legislation will add to Biden’s list of popular accomplishments, with the American Rescue Plan still supported by two-thirds of Americans (including nearly half of Republicans).

Worry/concern about coronavirus

The graph below tracks the percentage of Americans who say that they are very worried about personally experiencing coronavirus and those who are very concerned in general about the coronavirus pandemic.

Question wording: Taking into consideration both your risk of contracting it and the seriousness of the illness, how worried are you personally about experiencing coronavirus (COVID-19)?

How concerned are you about a coronavirus epidemic here in the United States?

Vaccines

Question wording: Do you think that the Covid-19 vaccines are being distributed…? Too quickly, Too slowly, At about the right pace.

Question wording: When you are eligible to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, how likely are you to get the vaccination?

Question wording: How likely would you be to get the Covid-19 vaccination if your state or local government gave you $100 to do so?

Which statement comes closer to your view, even if neither of them is exactly right? Employers should require proof of a COVID-19 vaccine in the health care, food service, and other industries that involve contact with patients or the general public. Employers should not require proof of a COVID-19 vaccine in the health care, food service, and other industries that involve contact with patients or the general public.

Approval on handling of coronavirus pandemic

The graph below shows net approval – the percent who strongly or somewhat approve of how Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and the CDC are handling the coronavirus pandemic minus the percent who strongly or somewhat disapprove.

Question wording: “For each person or group, say whether you approve or disapprove of the way they have handled the coronavirus pandemic:”

Question wording: Which level of government do you trust more to handle the Coronavirus pandemic: The [R’s state] state government or the federal government?

Personal experience with coronavirus

Question wording: Do you, personally, know someone who has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus? (Select all that apply)

Yes, a family member

Yes, a friend

Yes, a co-worker

Question wording: Was anyone you know who was diagnosed with coronavirus hospitalized? Did anyone you know who was diagnosed with coronavirus die?

Social Distancing

Question wording: Which of the following best describes your current behavior?

I am socializing in public places

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family in my or their homes

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family virtually

I am not going to public places nor am I socializing with family or friends

Question wording: Which, if any, of the following measures have you taken during the past two weeks to protect yourself from coronavirus (COVID-19)?

Wore a face mask when in public places

Avoided crowded public places

Avoided physical contact with people

Some officials have proposed mandating mask usage in areas where there is a significant outbreak of COVID-19. Which statement comes closer to your view, even if none of them are exactly right? Mask usage should be required by the government in all public places Mask usage should be required by the government in places where there is a COVID-19 outbreak Mask usage should not be required by the government but should be encouraged Mask usage should not be encouraged by the government

Government response to Coronavirus

In this section, we show how Americans are evaluating what the government has done to address the Coronavirus pandemic and how much they still want the government to do.

Question wording (March 2021): Congress is now considering the American Rescue Plan Act. The bill would cost American taxpayers $1.9 trillion and would provide stimulus checks to qualifying individuals in the amount of $1,400. The bill would also provide funding to support Covid-19 vaccination programs, expanded unemployment insurance, businesses affected by the pandemic, and school re-opening efforts. Do you support or oppose this proposal?

Question wording (April 2021): The American Rescue Plan Act was recently signed into law. The bill will cost American taxpayers $1.9 trillion and will provide stimulus checks to qualifying individuals in the amount of $1,400. The bill will also provide funding to support Covid-19 vaccination programs, expanded unemployment insurance, businesses affected by the pandemic, and school re-opening efforts. Do you support or oppose this proposal?

Question wording: Which comes closer to your view?

The government needs to spend more to address the coronavirus pandemic, even if it means increasing the national debt and deficit

The government has spent enough to address the coronavirus pandemic and should not do anything else to increase the national debt and deficit

The government has spent too much to address the coronavirus pandemic and should cut spending to reduce the national debt and deficit

General scope of government

Here we track Americans’ views on the scope of government.

Question 1 wording: Some people think the government should provide fewer services even in areas such as health and education in order to reduce spending. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Other people feel it is important for the government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Provide fewer services. 7=Provide many more services.

Question 2 wording: Some people feel the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Others think the government should just let each person get ahead on their own. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Govt should let each person get ahead on own. 7=Govt should see to jobs and standard of living.

Congress is now considering an infrastructure proposal that would cost $550 billion and would focus on repairing roads and bridges, improving mass transit and passenger rail, repairing drinking water systems, increasing access to high speed internet, and modernizing the nation’s electrical grid. Do you support or oppose this proposal?

Question wording: Do you think that the government response right now should mostly be focused on: Relief in the form of assistance to workers and small business OR Investments in new infrastructure to get Americans back to work.

Methodology

The Data for Progress COVID-19 tracking poll is fielded each week using respondents recruited via Lucid. Post-stratification weights are implemented to make each week’s sample nationally representative of American adults by gender, age, region, education, race, and the interaction of education and race. The data are also weighted to match vote shares from the previous presidential election (2016 prior to November and 2020 after November). The margin of error for each week’s survey is approximately ± 4 percentage points (this is a conservative estimate and will vary slightly depending on the exact sample size and design effect each week).

Full Toplines and Crosstabs

A document showing toplines by survey wave for each question can be found here.

Crosstabs for each week’s poll can be found at the links below:

The raw data for the tracking poll can be found here.

Lew BlankAugust 11, 2021Coronavirus, Taxes and Spending, Economy, Gue