LIU poll: Majority of Americans say country has seen worst of pandemic
"As more states continue to reach their COVID-19 vaccination goals, we anticipate optimism that the worst of the pandemic is over will continue to increase," said Andy Person, director of LIU's Hornstein Center. Credit: Danielle Silverman
With COVID-19 rates declining amid a growing number of people vaccinated, more than half of Americans believe the worst of the pandemic is over, according to a Long Island University poll.
The poll, conducted earlier this month by the university's Steven S. Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling and Analysis, surveyed more than 1,600 adults nationwide. A clear majority — 53% — contend that the worst days of the coronavirus pandemic are in the rearview mirror, up from 42% in April and 25% in February.
Two-thirds of Republican respondents offered confidence that the worst days of the pandemic are done, while half of independents and 47% of Democrats shared the same opinion.
"As more states continue to reach their COVID-19 vaccination goals, we anticipate optimism that the worst of the pandemic is over will continue to increase based on our polling trends," said Andy Person, director of the Hornstein Center.
A driving factor for those who contend that the worst of the pandemic has not passed was a personal concern over someone in their family contracting COVID-19 and becoming seriously ill, Person said.
In total, 57% of Americans remain concerned that someone in their family will contract the virus — down 11 percentage points since April — while 44% feel safe attending a full-capacity stadium event, compared with 33% two months earlier, the poll showed.
Meanwhile, 62% percent of Americans said they are satisfied with the national vaccine rollout — up four percentage points from April — with the highest rates among those aged 60 and older.
Statewide, the seven-day average positivity rate dipped to 0.37% Sunday — a record low for the 24th consecutive day — as the vaccination rate for adults 18 and older ticked above 71%, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Monday. The positivity rate Sunday was 0.43%.
"From the highest positivity rate on the globe, to one of the lowest positivity rates in the nation, New Yorkers have worked tirelessly to keep their communities safe and show up for each other throughout the pandemic," Cuomo said in a news release.
Long Island's positivity rate remained at 0.41%, with 19 Nassau residents and 26 in Suffolk testing positive for the virus, authorities said.
There were 10 deaths Sunday from the virus, including one each in Nassau and Suffolk.
Meanwhile, 71% of all adults have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 63.2% of New Yorkers 18 and older have completed their vaccination series, state Health Department officials said.
Just under 59% of all New Yorkers — including those ages 12 to 17 — have received at least one dose, and 52% are fully vaccinated, officials said.
In Nassau, 78.2% of all adults have received at least one dose, along with 64.7% of the eligible population. In Suffolk, 70.9% of adults, and 58.3% of the eligible population, have gotten at least one shot, officials said.
Meanwhile, New York City has administered more than 9 million doses of the vaccine as the positivity rate in the five boroughs dropped to the lowest levels of the pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.
The city administered 9,000,171 total doses of the vaccine while the seven-day positivity rate was 0.53%, de Blasio said at this daily news briefing.
"You want to keep driving that number down? You want to stay safe?," he said. "You want to open up 110%? Go get vaccinated."
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Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
