The survey, conducted in May, also found that people were growing less worried than before about catching or spreading the virus.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified before a Senate hearing in June.
Credit...Haiyun Jiang The New York Times
By Christine Chung
As the coronavirus pandemic entered its third year, the American public had lost much of its trust both in public health experts and in government leaders, and was less worried than before about Covid-19, according to a survey conducted in early May and released Thursday by the Pew Research Center.
Confidence ratings for public health officials, like those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; for state and local elected officials; and for President Biden fell in a range from 43 percent to 54 percent in the survey — much lower than during the early stages of the pandemic.
The survey found a wide partisan gap in attitudes. Overall, 52 percent of respondents said that public health officials had done an excellent or good job at managing the pandemic. But while 72 percent of Democrats in the survey said they felt that way, only 29 percent of Republicans did.
Democrats were also more likely than Republicans — 67 percent to 51 percent — to say they had at least some confidence in how prepared the nation’s health care system was to address a future global health emergency.
Public confidence in medical centers and hospitals remained high: Eight out of ten respondents said those institutions were continuing to manage the pandemic well, a small decline from 88 percent two years ago.
The survey found that Americans have grown less worried about catching the virus or unintentionally spreading it to others. Most respondents said they thought the worst of the pandemic was over, and only about a quarter saw the coronavirus as a significant threat to their personal health, down from 30 percent in January.
The average number of new confirmed cases reported daily across the United States surged to record highs in January, driven by the Omicron variant. The surge receded swiftly as the winter ended, but the average started to rise again in the spring. Since the survey was taken, the number of new confirmed cases has been around 100,000 a day, according to a New York Times database.
Those figures are thought to understate the true number of infections, however, because of increasing reliance on at-home testing, the closings of mass testing sites and reduced frequency in data reporting by states. New deaths have fallen significantly since the winter surge, and Covid now kills fewer than 400 people daily in the United States.
A a narrow majority of respondents in the Pew survey — 55 percent — said they thought vaccination had been somewhat or very effective at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. But only about half felt that way about wearing masks indoors, and respondents were even more skeptical about the efficacy of maintaining six feet of social distance indoors, with only 34 percent considering that at least somewhat effective.
The poll included 10,282 adults who were surveyed online between May 2 and May 8.
Christine Chung is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news. @chrisychung
A version of this article appears in print on July 8, 2022, Section A, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: Pandemic Gutted Trust in Experts, Poll Finds.
By Christine Chung
NYT
July 7, 2022
As the coronavirus pandemic entered its third year, the American public had lost much of its trust both in public health experts and in government leaders, and was less worried than before about Covid-19, according to a survey conducted in early May and released Thursday by the Pew Research Center.
Confidence ratings for public health officials, like those at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; for state and local elected officials; and for President Biden fell in a range from 43 percent to 54 percent in the survey — much lower than during the early stages of the pandemic.
The survey found a wide partisan gap in attitudes. Overall, 52 percent of respondents said that public health officials had done an excellent or good job at managing the pandemic. But while 72 percent of Democrats in the survey said they felt that way, only 29 percent of Republicans did.
Democrats were also more likely than Republicans — 67 percent to 51 percent — to say they had at least some confidence in how prepared the nation’s health care system was to address a future global health emergency.
Public confidence in medical centers and hospitals remained high: Eight out of ten respondents said those institutions were continuing to manage the pandemic well, a small decline from 88 percent two years ago.
The survey found that Americans have grown less worried about catching the virus or unintentionally spreading it to others. Most respondents said they thought the worst of the pandemic was over, and only about a quarter saw the coronavirus as a significant threat to their personal health, down from 30 percent in January.
The average number of new confirmed cases reported daily across the United States surged to record highs in January, driven by the Omicron variant. The surge receded swiftly as the winter ended, but the average started to rise again in the spring. Since the survey was taken, the number of new confirmed cases has been around 100,000 a day, according to a New York Times database.
Those figures are thought to understate the true number of infections, however, because of increasing reliance on at-home testing, the closings of mass testing sites and reduced frequency in data reporting by states. New deaths have fallen significantly since the winter surge, and Covid now kills fewer than 400 people daily in the United States.
A a narrow majority of respondents in the Pew survey — 55 percent — said they thought vaccination had been somewhat or very effective at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. But only about half felt that way about wearing masks indoors, and respondents were even more skeptical about the efficacy of maintaining six feet of social distance indoors, with only 34 percent considering that at least somewhat effective.
The poll included 10,282 adults who were surveyed online between May 2 and May 8.
Christine Chung is a general assignment reporter covering breaking news. @chrisychung
A version of this article appears in print on July 8, 2022, Section A, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: Pandemic Gutted Trust in Experts, Poll Finds.
No comments:
Post a Comment