For the first time a majority of Democrats say the pandemic is over: poll
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
- A majority of Democrats now say the pandemic is over.
- This is the first time that group has said so since Gallup started tracking it.
- The opinion shift comes as the White House takes steps to show the nation is turning the page.
A majority of Democrats now say the pandemic is over, further signaling that the US is trying to return to some sense of normal after COVID-19.
According to a new Gallup online poll, 51% of Democrats agree the pandemic is over in the nation. While 84% of Republicans say the same thing, they crossed the majority threshold in April 2022. As for independents, they are, not surprisingly, in the middle, with 65% of such voters feel the pandemic is over.
Gallup says that 64% of overall Americans agree the pandemic is over, the largest number since it began tracking the question. The polling firm also found that fewer than 2 in 10 Americans express concern about contracting the disease.
Democrats' views have changed considerably over the past year. Last July, only 7% were ready to say the pandemic was over. As recently as February, only 28% agreed that the end had been reached. The sudden shift dovetails with recent actions Congress and President Joe Biden have taken.
Biden ended the national COVID-19 emergency in April after congress passed a resolution calling for that move, based on a bipartisan vote. Student loan borrowers are set to resume payments in October. Mortgage relief through the Department of Housing and Urban Development ended on May 31.
Biden himself declared the pandemic "over" during a September 2022 interview on CBS's "60 Minutes."
"The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lotta work on it. ... But the pandemic is over," he said at the time.
For all the changes, Americans are not ready to say life is back to pre-pandemic norms. Just under a majority (43%), said that their life is completely back to normal. While that is a new high in the poll, it illustrates the nuanced way the country continues to deal with the event.
"Just as optimism about the pandemic's trajectory has grown, so too have expectations for a return to pre-pandemic normalcy, but less so," Gallup Research consultant Megan Brenan writes about the poll. "As time passes, Americans may well become further convinced that normalcy is within their grasp."
Gallup's finding is borne out in other data too. Public transit use has yet to rebound in the US' biggest cities amid broader remote work. Overall travel spending is on par with pre-pandemic levels, but inbound international and domestic business travel are still lagging behind.
The results are from a series of online surveys Gallup conducted from May 30-June 6, 2023. The 4,556 adults were randomly selected and then weighted to account for non-responses.
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