(POLL) Americans less optimistic about current Covid-19 situation

The following is an excerpt from Gallup News.

Americans remain more optimistic than pessimistic about the coronavirus situation in the U.S., but substantially fewer express optimism than did so this spring.

Gallup's latest Covid-19 survey finds 41% of U.S. adults saying the Covid-19 situation is getting better, down from 63% measured in late April and early May.

Thirty percent, up from 15%, say the situation is getting worse, while 29% believe it is staying the same.

Americans' assessments of the Covid-19 situation have varied greatly over the course of the pandemic, typically in response to changes in infection rates throughout the country.

The latest survey, conducted July 26-Aug. 2, captures public opinion when new Covid-19 infections have risen to roughly 100,000 per day, on average, as the BA.2 variant has spread. 

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.

Most Expect Cases to Rise Later This Year; Don't See Pandemic as Over

Since the first Covid-19 cases were detected in the U.S. in early 2020, infections have generally increased in the fall and winter months, as occurred in late 2020/early 2021 and late 2021/early 2022.

Most Americans expect a similar pattern to occur later this year, with two-thirds predicting Covid-19 infections will increase either a great deal (23%) or a moderate amount (43%).

Meanwhile, 27% think infections will stay at about the same level as they are now, while 8% expect them to decrease.

Currently, 33% of U.S. adults say that the pandemic is over, while 67% say it is not.

The one-third of Americans who think the pandemic has ended, while still the minority view, is essentially tied for the high in Gallup's trend, 34% measured in the April survey.

Read full article and survey results here.