Large majorities value government investments in science and consider it important for the United States to be a world leader in scientific achievement, but few think the country is gaining ground globally.

Overall, 46% of Americans say the statement “public health officials were unprepared for the outbreak” describes their views extremely or very well, including similar shares of Republicans and Democrats.

Online dating users who are Democrats are far more likely their Republican counterparts to say someone’s vaccination status is important for them to see.

Here’s what Americans said they learned about the development of vaccines and medical treatments and their advice for handling a future outbreak.

We asked respondents to describe in their own words what rose and fell in importance to them during the pandemic. Here are some of the key themes that emerged.

A median of 68% across 19 countries think their country has done a good job dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, with majorities saying this in every country surveyed except Japan. However, most also believe the pandemic has created greater divisions in their societies and exposed weaknesses in their political systems – and these view are especially common in the U.S.

Americans offer a lackluster evaluation of how the country has balanced priorities during the coronavirus outbreak. Fewer than half say the country has given the right amount of priority to the needs of K-12 students, public health or quality of life.

As has often been the case on policy questions about how to deal with the pandemic, partisans are far apart in their views on mask mandates.

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.

Most U.S. adults do not believe that requests for religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine are sincere.