Partisan differences are common in the lessons Americans take away from COVID-19
Here’s what Americans said they learned about the development of vaccines and medical treatments and their advice for handling a future outbreak.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
All
Publications
Here’s what Americans said they learned about the development of vaccines and medical treatments and their advice for handling a future outbreak.
Increasing representation in science is seen as important for attracting more Hispanic people to science.
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.
65% of U.S. adults say science has had a mostly positive effect on society; 28% say it has had an equal mix of positive and negative effects.
70% of Americans say the core strategies for containing COVID-19 are well understood, even though studies have yielded conflicting advice.
While the CDC has pointed to some possible factors that may be contributing to this pattern, the public is divided in its perceptions.
One-in-ten U.S. adults say they have taken part in citizen science in the past year, and 26% say they have ever done so.
Black adults were much more likely than whites and somewhat more likely than Hispanic adults to frequently discuss the pandemic with others.
People in this group are most likely to say the outbreak has been made too big of a deal and journalists have been exaggerating the risks.
More than two-thirds of adults ages 65 or older said they were following news of the pandemic very closely.
Notifications