14% of U.S. adults say they have tested positive for COVID-19 or are ‘pretty sure’ they have had it
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.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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.
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.
70% of Americans say the core strategies for containing COVID-19 are well understood, even though studies have yielded conflicting advice.
Black Americans stand out from other racial and ethnic groups in their attitudes toward key health care questions associated with the pandemic.
Relatively few Americans say they have tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, but many more believe they may have been infected.
Americans’ expectations for the year ahead include an effective treatment or cure for COVID-19, as well as a vaccine to prevent the disease.
Polling finds public trust in medical scientists has increased but only among Democrats – while optimism about a vaccine is broadly shared.
While 43% of Americans say the new coronavirus most likely came about naturally, nearly three-in-ten say it most likely was created in a lab.
For some governments, the debt incurred on COVID-19 relief will add to the considerable red ink already on their ledgers before the pandemic.
Americans see “social distancing” measures urged by public health officials to limit the spread of COVID-19 as generally appropriate.
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