A new survey revealed that a majority of Americans do not support reinstating mask mandates or social distancing guidelines today.
Researchers at the Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey released a survey on monday that showed how a majority of Americans disagree on reinstituting masks or social distancing guidelines two years into the COVID pandemic. Survey respondents were asked to answer the question, "Do you support or oppose instituting, or reinstituting, face mask and social distancing guidelines in your state at the current time?"
Results showed that most or 62% opposed reinstituting mask and social distancing guidelines, versus 34% who agreed to bringing these COVID precautions back, Breitbart reported. The results showed a significant decrease over the past two months, as back in January, 52% said they supported reinstituting mask and social distancing guidelines.
The results of the survey also showed that 77% said they agreed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decision to reduce restrictions. Furthermore, 73% agreed that it is "time we accept that COVID is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives."
The survey revealed that there was a decrease in the number of people who were concerned over a family member becoming "seriously ill" from COVID. Half of the respondents now said that they are either "not at all concerned" or "not too concerned," which shows an 11-point increase from the 39% who said the same in January.
Despite the U.S. having high vaccination rates and states dropping COVID restrictions and other safety precautions, White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci continued to urge Americans to practice precautions, Yahoo! News reported. During BBC's "Sunday Morning," Dr. Fauci said that "we need to be prepared for the possibility that we would have another variant that would come along and then things change."
Dr. Fauci added, "If we do get a variance that does give us an uptick in cases and hospitalization, we should be prepared and flexible enough to pivot towards going back - at least temporarily - to a more rigid type of restrictions, such as requiring masks indoors."
Moreover, Dr. Fauci is also recommending a fourth shot of the COVID vaccine. The White House chief medical advisor spoke to House Democrats earlier this month, where he confirmed that while data is unclear, the protection against hospitalization obtained from COVID vaccines appears to wane after four to five months after the third shot, Bloomberg reported.
Dr. Fauci said that "sooner or later" Americans will "need a fourth" shot of the COVID vaccine. His remarks come as the Biden administration's White House COVID team is preparing for changes in leadership, as response coordinator Jeff Zients and his deputy, Natalie Quillian are set to depart in April. They will be replaced by Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown School of Public Health.
Jha warned via Twitter that new variants of COVID may still emerge, writing, "We are very likely to see more surges of infections."
Meanwhile, Dr. Fauci believes that the U.S. is in a "transition state." He remarked, "We are obviously going in the right direction [but] we have to be really careful and not declare total victory prematurely. I do believe we will be able to settle into a degree of normality."
