The first year of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. was characterized by sharp partisan differences in public attitudes on a wide range of pandemic issues. But in views of some aspects of COVID-19, there is little or only modest partisan difference.
Comparable majorities of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, and Republicans and GOP leaners continue to view the coronavirus outbreak as a major threat to the U.S. economy, according to February data.
This contrasts with views of the nature of the public health threat COVID-19 poses: While 82% of Democrats say the outbreak is a major threat to the health of the U.S. population as a whole, half as many Republicans (41%) say the same.
