Half of Americans never think they'll get COVID again

 The Ipsos Consumer Tracker asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.

Why we asked about COVID expectations: COVID cases are continuing a summer surge as “back-to-school” also becomes “back-to-COVID” season. New vaccines are starting to roll out.

What we found: This question is one we’ve asked for years now about how people think about their risk of getting COVID. And even as it surges around us those who think they will never again get COVID is now at the highest levels we’ve seen: about half (49%) of Americans. That leaves the other half shifting between those who say they expect to get it “despite trying to stay as safe as possible” and with the more fatalistic “I have gone about my life as normally as I could.” Many fewer (20% now compared to 31% at this time in 2023) say they are trying to stay as safe as possible as safety measures have mostly disappeared in all spheres. And yes, politics come into play here. Equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats don’t expect to get COVID again, but Democrats were twice as likely to say they are trying to stay safe. For the record, between 600 and 900 deaths per week recently are due to COVID, which currently accounts for about 2.5% of all deaths, according to the CDC. Car crashes, for reference, kill about 850 per week.

More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:

Have shortages conditioned us to pay more for groceries?

When it comes to retirement, people are dreaming small

Fewer Americans say they have flexibility in where they work

Why America's childless cat ladies are more than just Taylor Swift

The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about?