Unvaccinated Americans are at higher risk from COVID-19 but express less concern than vaccinated adults
Unvaccinated Americans are less likely to be concerned about health effects of COVID-19 and to wear masks in businesses all or most of the time.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Unvaccinated Americans are less likely to be concerned about health effects of COVID-19 and to wear masks in businesses all or most of the time.
The share of Americans who say science has had a mostly positive impact on society has fallen 16 percentage points since before the start of the coronavirus outbreak, from 73% in January 2019 to 57% today.
Black Americans hold multifaceted views when it comes to trust in medical research scientists: Majorities hold largely positive views of their competence, but express concern about the potential for misconduct.
77% think vaccinations will benefit the economy.
Trust in scientists and medical scientists has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, with 29% of U.S. adults saying they have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the best interests of the public. This is down from 40% in November 2020 and 35% in January 2019, before COVID-19 emerged. Other prominent groups – including the military, police officers and public school principals – have also seen their ratings decline.
One year into the coronavirus pandemic, about a fifth of U.S. adults (21%) are experiencing high levels of psychological distress.
Still about two-in-ten U.S. adults are “pretty certain” they won’t get the vaccine – even when there’s more information.
81% of Black Americans consider the outbreak a major threat to public health and about half see it as a major threat to their personal health.
The share of Americans who say they know someone else who has been hospitalized or died due to COVID-19 has increased sharply since spring.
There are widely held concerns about the safety and effectiveness of a possible vaccine and the pace of the approval process.
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