Story at a glance
- Just 28 percent of Americans are concerned about catching COVID-19, marking the lowest total reported since June of 2021.
- The findings come as some experts raise concern about an impending winter surge.
- Around 2,000 Americans still die of COVID-19 each week, while around 3,000 are admitted to hospitals daily.
Less than 30 percent of Americans are currently worried about catching COVID-19, marking the lowest total reported since June of 2021, according results of a new Gallup poll.
At that time, 17 percent of Americans reported being worried about catching the disease compared with 28 percent who said the same in October 2022.
The results also found 6 in 10 Americans are not attempting to isolate themselves at all, while a new record, 78 percent, advise healthy individuals to live life normally to avoid interruptions to work and business.
In comparison, around 1 in 5 still say the best advice for healthy people without symptoms is to stay home as much as possible to avoid contracting and spreading the disease.
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Findings come as the World Health Organization reports a 90 percent decrease in global COVID-19 deaths since February 2022. However, around 2,000 Americans continue to die from the disease each week and around 3,400 individuals are admitted to the hospital for the condition each day, according to CDC data.
In addition, slow uptake of the latest COVID-19 boosters has some worried about another winter surge. Just 1 in 10 U.S. adults has received a bivalent booster, which targets the original virus and a form of omicron, and just 1 in 4 seniors have gotten the shot.
The new Gallup findings also coincide with a record number of Americans classifying the pandemic as “over.”
The survey was carried out between Oct. 11-19. Despite low fears of catching COVID-19, the majority of respondents said they think infections will increase in the fall and winter months, though this total (62 percent) is slightly down from those who said the same in July (66 percent).
A record low number of Americans also said they’re avoiding certain situations because of the threat of infection, and just 40 percent report using a face mask outside of their home in the past week, marking another new low of the pandemic.
A quarter of respondents report isolating themselves partially or a little from people outside their own household, amounting to the lowest proportion recorded since April 2020, one month after the pandemic began.
“This collective comfort was two and a half years in the making, but Americans arrived at it fitfully after setbacks due to new variants that reignited concern, causing many to reconsider social distancing practices at least temporarily,” authors wrote.
“New variants are sure to emerge in the winter and will test Americans’ more relaxed perspective.”
The survey included responses from 3,702 U.S. adults aged 18 and older.
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