Poll: Majority Of Americans Favor Covid-19 Vaccine And Face Mask Requirements

Yo, what do Americans want, what do Americans really, really want? That’s not exactly how the Spice Girls song went, but a new Monmouth University Poll of Americans aimed to tell what Americans really, really want when it comes to dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. Of those surveyed from September 9 to 13, 2021, 63% supported “instituting, or reinstituting, state-based face mask and social distancing guidelines.”

That’s a majority of those polled and an even greater majority than the 52% in a Monmouth University poll conducted in July. And before you say “but the Republicans”, “but the Democrats”, “but the conservatives”, or “but the liberals” in a whiny lost-my-puppy voice, here’s what may be a kick in the buts. The poll didn’t find massive differences between the so-called “blue states” and “red states,” with 66% in the former and 59% in the latter favoring such guidelines. Maybe America is not as divided on Covid-19 precautions as some political leaders may make you think.

For the poll, the Monmouth University Polling Institute conducted interviews of a random sample of 802 adults age 18 and older. They selected the interviewees via random digit dialing and sampling from phone lists and tried to make the sample representative of different demographics across the U.S. So presumably this wasn’t just a North poll or a South poll, but rather one that asked people from various parts of the country.

The results showed that a majority of the respondents favored Covid-19 vaccination requirements for different groups. For example, 63% supported such requirements for health care workers, 58% for federal employees, 55% for private contractors working for the federal government, 60% for teachers and school staff, and 51% for school students aged 12 and older. And as indicated earlier, there weren’t gigantic differences between those from “blue” versus “red” states The biggest percentage difference was five with 65% of respondents in blue states and 60% in red states favoring Covid-19 vaccination requirements for health care workers. The only time such support dropped below 50% was the 48% in red states that favored Covid-19 vaccination requirements for school children versus 53% for those in blue states.

There were comparable amounts of enthusiasm for venues requiring proof of vaccination. For example, 59% supported proof-of-vaccination requirements for airplane flights, 55% for indoor sporting events or concerts, 53% for workplaces that involve mixing with other people, and 50% for gyms. Such support did drop to 46% when it came to restaurant dining or outdoors events. For these questions, the differences between blue state and red state results were even smaller, never exceeding two percentage points.

Result were similar for face mask requirements. A majority (66%) of respondents favored face mask mandates for students, teachers, and staff in schools with a 68% and 63% blue state-red state divide.

Of course, as recent elections and any top ten list with Nickelback's “Photograph” on it have shown, polls can be very imperfect. They don’t always reflect true sentiment. Asking 800-plus people questions is not the same as asking 250 million plus people the same questions. No matter how diverse your sample may be, it may not really match the diversity that exists throughout the country. Plus, there can be a fair amount of poll dancing, so to speak. People aren’t always completely forthcoming when answering questions, especially when the questions come from strangers. The accuracy of the answers can depend on what the question is, how it’s asked, and what are the surrounding circumstances. For example, try asking random people whether they’ve farted in the past few minutes and have someone else determine how accurate the answers may be. So take all these results from the Monmouth University poll with a fanny pack of salt.

Nevertheless, these poll results do paint a picture of America that’s starkly different from what some anonymous social media accounts, politicians, and TV personalities may be portraying. For example, recently, Jim Breuer, who played the Goat Boy character on the TV show “Saturday Night Live,” appeared on the Tucker Carlson show to rail against vaccination requirements. Now Breuer isn’t a medical doctor as Carlson didn’t refer to him as Dr. Goat Boy or Dr. Boy. So why was he on the show then? Did the Goat Boy really represent the average American or what the average American feels? Or did his appearance instead try to “goat” you into thinking that?

Plus, all of this “left vs. right”, “Democrat vs. Republican”, and “us vs. them” talk makes it artificially seem like there are only two distinct groups in America, overlooking the true diversity in America. It also overlooks the fact that many people may not really use a partisan-lens to make each and every decision each and every day. People don’t necessarily ask, “hmm, what would a Republican eat today,” or “is there a Democratic version of that dishwashing machine?”

One of the most tragic things about the pandemic has been politicization of Covid-19 precautions that are actually backed by real science. Vaccination, face mask use, and social distancing should not be partisan issues. Yet, some politicians, anonymous social media accounts, and Tv personalities keep trying to make them seem partisan.

With the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the U.S. has essentially become a “Delta house” that has only 54.2% of its population fully vaccinated. Yet, some keep yelling words like “freedom”, “liberties”, and “swollen testicles” when trying to encourage others to resist Covid-19 precautions without providing any viable science-backed alternatives. OK, not everyone is yelling “swollen testicles” except for the whole Nicki Minaj a whaa thing that I just covered for Forbes.

Social media and politicians may leave you believing that many Americans are buying into this partisan divide thing. But maybe, just maybe, most people in the U.S. understand that the true path to freedom is to use science to better control the Covid-19 coronavirus.

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