This week, Townhall reported how a new survey showed if Americans were likely to get an updated COVID-19 booster shot this fall. This survey came after reports showed there were recent surges of the virus. This week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed some of its COVID-19 guidance, treating vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans the same when it comes to masking and social distancing.
A new poll from Gallup published Wednesday found that Americans are more optimistic than pessimistic about the COVID-19 pandemic, but their levels are optimism are lower than they were this past spring.
Gallup’s latest survey found that 41 percent of American adults believe the COVID-19 situation is getting better while 30 percent say it is getting worse. In late April and early May, 63 percent of adults polled said the COVID-19 situation was getting better while 15 percent said it was getting worse.
In the survey write-up, Gallup pointed out how all political parties are less optimistic about COVID-19 than they were in April.
All political party groups are less optimistic about the COVID-19 situation than they were in April, with declines of 27 percentage points among Democrats, 21 points among independents and 19 points among Republicans. Democrats have been, and continue to be, the least optimistic group. They are now more likely to say the situation is getting worse (44%) than to say it is getting better (29%), while independents and Republicans continue to be optimistic, on balance.
About 35 percent of Americans surveyed say they are “very” or “somewhat” worried about contracting the virus. Democrats expect COVID-19 cases to escalate in the coming months.
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More than eight in 10 Democrats expect COVID-19 cases to rise this fall and winter, while slightly less than half of Republicans do. But Republicans are much more inclined to think cases will stay at about the level as they are now (42%) than to believe they will decrease (12%).
Spencer noted in his report how liberals were unhappy with the CDC's updated guidance this week surrounding COVID-19. Several leftists criticized the CDC for not "following the science."
"The government seems to be catching on to the idea of having Americans rely on personal responsibility while protecting those who are most vulnerable to serious infection rather than forcing a once-size-fits-all mandate that unnecessarily punished those with little risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID," Spencer explained. "The new guidance is at least an initial sign that the Biden administration is waking up to the reality many Americans already knew — shutting down schools, businesses, and normal life in some quixotic attempt to eradicate COVID was not a realistic strategy."
