A majority is now prepared to accept COVID-19 as part of the new normal.
Seven in 10 people agreed with the statement “It’s time we accept that Covid is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives” in a recent Monmouth University poll. Acceptance of the virus as a part of normal life varied by political affiliation, with 89% of Republicans agreeing versus 71% of independents and 47% of Democrats.
MODERNA COVID-19 VACCINE RECEIVES FULL FDA APPROVAL FOR ADULTS
Meanwhile, only 34% feel the United States will get the coronavirus under control by the end of the year, while 28% now believe a return to normalcy will never happen, up from 22% in September.
“Americans’ worries about Covid haven’t gone away. It seems more to be a realization that we are not going to get this virus under control in a way that we thought was possible just last year,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
The national mood is a bad sign for President Joe Biden, whose pandemic approval rating has plummeted to about 44%, according to FiveThirtyEight. Biden ran on the promise of getting COVID-19 under control, but the U.S. has seen cases skyrocket under his watch. Nearly a million new cases were reported in a single day earlier this month.
Biden himself has adopted a tone of somber acceptance in recent weeks. Last week, while in Pittsburgh to promote the Building a Better America initiative, he noted that the prognosis is “still not good, but we’re getting there.” Before that, when discussing the December 2021 jobs report, Biden said, “Having COVID in the environment, here and in the world, is probably here to stay.”
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
The omicron wave appears to be receding, though. A record high of more than 806,000 new cases on average was reported daily in the week ending on Jan. 14, according to tracking from the New York Times. Now, the seven-day average number of new cases is significantly lower — about 519,000. Hospitalizations have also fallen 8% in the past two weeks. Daily death tolls could still rise due to the sheer volume of people currently being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals. Roughly 143,000 patients are being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals.
