There has been no shortage of polls detailing how Americans feel about mask mandates, vaccine mandates, and other restrictions meant to curb the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. Furthermore, several polls have shown what percentage of Americans feel ready to "get back to normal" once and for all despite the emergence of the contagious Delta variant. However, a new poll published Thursday asked respondents if their stress levels have raged or waned from when the pandemic began.
The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National poll, conducted Sept. 20 through 26, showed that 41 percent of respondents are "about as stressed" as they were when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Thirty-six percent of respondents feel more stressed, while 22 percent of respondents feel less stressed.
When the numbers are broken down further, the poll shows that 41 percent of respondents who are Republicans and 41 percent of respondents who live in rural areas are "slightly more stressed" than Democrats (36 percent), Independents (31 percent), and urban residents (37 percent).
The survey questioned respondents on whether or not employers should require in-person workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Forty-eight percent of respondents said employers should implement vaccination requirements, while 46 percent were against such mandates. However, an overwhelming majority of respondents, 64 percent, said healthcare workers should be required to be vaccinated. This accounted for 92 percent of Democrats and 38 percent of Republicans. A general vaccine mandate for in-person workers is supported by 81 percent of Democrats and 23 percent of Republicans.
Regarding Biden's approval rating, respondents were divided – 45 percent approve and 46 percent disapprove. "His negative rating has dropped five percentage points from our early September poll when his approval rating was under water by 8 points (43% to 51%). Those saying they are unsure is at 9%," the poll write-up states.
The poll write-up notes that 1220 American adults were surveyed with a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points.
