DFP Coronavirus Response Tracking Poll Week 44

By Brian Schaffner Tufts University

Summary

As the Senate considers President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, this week’s Data for Progress coronavirus tracking poll finds wide-ranging support for the legislation. Three-fourths of American adults say that they support the American Rescue Plan with just 17% opposed. The legislation has broad bipartisan appeal – over 90% of Democrats say that they support the plan while almost 60% of Republicans say the same. This follows the pattern of previous stimulus bills which have maintained their popularity long after passage. The first pandemic response legislation, the CARES Act, is still supported by over 80% of Americans as is the more recent stimulus legislation that was signed into law by President Trump in December.

We also are beginning to see signs of optimism about the pandemic among some Americans in our recent poll. There has been a slow but steady drop in the percentage of Americans who say that they are very concerned about the pandemic since December. This may be related to increasing satisfaction with the nation’s vaccination efforts. The percentage of Americans who say that the vaccines are being distributed too slowly has dropped significantly since early February; now, only 43% of Americans think that the distribution is too slow. We also see a clear increase in the percentage of Americans who say that they are very likely to get the vaccine when it is available.

Whether it is the increasing optimism about the pandemic, the increasing share of Americans who have received the vaccine, or the beginning of warmer spring weather, social distancing behaviors have relaxed a bit during the past month. While most Americans are still wearing masks, the percent who say that they are avoiding crowds has dropped to its lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic about a year ago. Americans are also more likely to say that they are socializing in public than they have been at any point since last April.

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?

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:”

The next graph shows who Americans say is mostly to blame for the state of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. Respondents could select as many of the options as they wanted in response to this question.

Question wording: “Based on what you’ve seen, read, or heard, who would you say is mostly to blame for the state of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States? (Select all that apply)” Democrats in Congress, Republicans in Congress, President Trump, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, None of these

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?

Changes in job status

Here we track responses to a question asking respondents how their work has changed since March 1st of this year. Only respondents who are in the work force are included in the chart below.

Question wording: Since March 1st, 2020, has your work changed? Yes, my hours have been reduced. Yes, I lost my job.

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?

Vaccination

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?

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

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: 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: 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.

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 Coronavirus 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: