Last week, President Biden announced new vaccine mandates that could affect approximately 80 million Americans. One mandate, which has garnered strong reaction from lawmakers and other public figures, is a mandate that would require companies with 100 or more employees to require the Wuhan coronavirus vaccine for their workers. A poll released on Monday shows what percentage of Americans would support such a measure, compared to results from previous months when asked the same question.
A new poll conducted by CNN and SSRS, published on Monday, shows where 2,119 respondents surveyed from Aug. 3 through Sept. 7 stand on issues such as vaccine mandates to return to work, school, and being able to attend sporting events and concerts.
In the results, 54 percent of respondents said they supported an office worker to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to be allowed to return to the office. Forty-six percent of respondents oppose. For both in-person school and attending sporting events and concerts, 55 percent of respondents said they support vaccination requirements to return to these activities as well. For both questions, the remaining 45 percent of respondents opposed such measures.
Other questions surveyed were more specific, such as requiring shoppers at grocery stores to provide vaccine proof to be allowed entrance into the store. Less than half of respondents, 41 percent, said they would support this measure. These results differ from a survey conducted in April, where only 26 percent of respondents said they would support vaccination proof to enter a grocery store. In April, an overwhelming majority – 72 percent – said they would oppose.
Along the same lines, respondents were asked their opinion on vaccine requirements to enter establishments like restaurants. Almost half – 51 percent – said they believe these measures are an acceptable way to increase the vaccination rate. The additional 49 percent said it is "an unacceptable infringement on personal rights."
Out of the 2,119 respondents, 27 percent indicated that they have not received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Out of these respondents, 18 percent said they will try to get vaccinated. The vast majority, 82 percent, said they will not.
Another recurring issue surrounding COVID-19 is mask mandates in schools. In the survey, respondents were asked if school-aged children should be required to wear masks in the classroom. Sixty-three percent of respondents said they support school masking requirements in the classroom. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they oppose it.
In the write-up accompanying the poll, it states the margin of sampling error for total respondents is +/- 2.8 at the 95 percent confidence level. Results for the 1,838 registered voters have a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.0 percentage points.
