One in five Americans report losing someone close to them from Covid-19, poll finds
Black and Hispanic people were more likely to experience loss of someone close to them from Covid-19 compared to white people, the poll finds
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Your support makes all the difference.About one in every five Americans have said they lost a relative or close friend due to the coronavirus, according to a new poll – showing the impact of the novel virus on the country one year into the pandemic.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research surveyed 1,434 adults from 25 February to 1 March to determine how many families have been impacted by the novel virus, as the United States records more than 527,000 Covid-19 deaths.
Black and Hispanic people were more likely to experience the loss of someone close to them from Covid-19 compared to white Americans, the poll found, with 30 per cent and 29 per cent respectively saying they lost someone close from the novel virus.
In comparison, only 15 per cent of white people said they lost someone from Covid-19. For other racial groups, the sample sizes were too small to analyse.
That translates into differences in how worried people are about a virus that remains a serious threat until most of the country – and the world – gets vaccinated. Despite recent drops in cases, 43 per cent of Black Americans and 39 per cent of Hispanics were very or extremely worried about themselves or a loved one getting Covid-19, compared to just 25 per cent of white people.
Loss was also more likely experienced in lower-income households with 24 per cent of respondents stating their household made $30,000 or less and experienced loss from Covid-19. This in comparison to 17 per cent of respondents stating they made more than $30,000 and experienced loss from Covid-19.
Overall, the concern people have about their loved ones contracting Covid-19 has declined in the last month. About three in every 10 Americans were very worried about themselves or a family member being infected with the virus. This was down from the four in every 10 Americans who said they were worried last month.
Concern declining among the public could be due to the rise in people receiving a Covid-19 vaccination.
More than 95 million doses have been administered in the US, according to CDC data. About 9.9 per cent of the American population was fully vaccinated for the vaccine, a number anticipated to rapidly increase as manufacturing and distribution ramps ups.
While vaccines offer real hope for ending the pandemic, the poll also found about one in three Americans don’t intend to get their shot. The most reluctant: Younger adults, people without college degrees, and Republicans
The hardest-hit are also having the hardest time getting vaccinated: 16 per cent of Black Americans and 15 per cent of Hispanics say they already have received at least one shot, compared to 26 per cent of white people. But the majority of each population group wanted to receive a vaccine.
Despite vaccine hesitancy still being seen across population groups, confidence in the jabs has increased in recent months as more and more Americans receive a dose. The poll found that 25 per cent of Americans aren’t confident in receiving a vaccine, which was down from the 32 per cent who said they wouldn’t receive a jab in December.
Health experts were hoping vaccine hesitancy would only continue to diminish as more Americans interacted with someone who received the jab and experienced positive results.
The poll found two-thirds of Americans believed their fellow citizens have not taken the novel virus seriously enough, one year since the World Health Organisation officially declared Covid-19 a pandemic.
This perspective differed among party lines, with 60 per cent of Democrats saying their local communities failed to take the threat seriously enough and 83 per cent saying the country as a whole didn’t take the threat seriously.
Among Republicans, 31 per cent thought their local communities didn’t take the threat seriously enough while 44 per cent said the country mishandled the virus. There were still about one-third of Republicans who believed the country overreacted to Covid-19, according to the poll.
The Associated Press contributed to this report