According to a recent poll from Morning Consult, more than half of Americans are very or somewhat worried about getting Covid-19 in the next year, but the poll found stark—and perhaps surprising—differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated respondents.

Prepare and adapt your Covid-19 communication strategy with external and internal stakeholders

How concerned Americans are about Covid-19

For the poll, Morning Consult surveyed 4,411 adults between Jan. 14 and Jan. 16. The poll found that 58% of respondents said they are either very or somewhat worried about getting Covid-19 within the next year, while 39% said they were either not too worried or not worried at all.

However, the poll found that responses varied significantly by vaccination status. More than half of unvaccinated respondents said they were not too worried or not at all worried about getting Covid-19 within the next year, compared to around one-third of respondents who were fully vaccinated or boosted.

Although unvaccinated respondents expressed less concern about getting Covid-19, evidence shows that unvaccinated individuals have a significantly higher risk of contracting, being hospitalized with, or dying from the disease.

Meanwhile, when asked how their activity would be affected in response to the outbreak of the omicron variant, nearly half of respondents said they intend to make changes to their normal activity to prioritize safety and public health.

The responses varied significantly by political party. Nearly two-thirds of respondents who identified as Democrats said they plan to make changes to their normal activity, compared to just under a third of those who identified as Republicans.

The Covid-19 policies Americans support and oppose

Morning Consult also asked respondents whether they supported or opposed various policies aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus.

Nearly 70% of respondents said they support requiring masks to be worn in public places and requiring masks to be worn in schools. In addition, nearly two-thirds said they support limiting the number of people who can be in public places at once.

However, respondents were more evenly split on whether proof of vaccination should be required to enter a public space or for students to attend school in-person.

How Americans feel about the Biden administration's free Covid-19 tests and masks

Meanwhile, in a separate poll of 1,085 adults between Jan. 21 and Jan. 24 conducted by Axios and Ipsos, the vast majority of respondents expressed support for the federal government mailing out free at-home Covid-19 tests, including a majority of unvaccinated respondents.

A similar proportion of respondents said they support the federal government providing N95 masks to anyone who wants one through a pharmacy or health clinic.

Nearly 90% of respondents said they currently wear a mask at least occasionally. Nearly 40% of respondents said they wore a cloth mask, the most common response, while 35% said they wore a surgical mask. Meanwhile, just 19% of respondents reported wearing an N95 mask—the type of mask that, according to CDC, provides the best protection against the coronavirus. (Talev, Axios, 1/25; Leonhardt, New York Times, 1/25)a