Americans’ worries about infection rise as omicron spreads: poll | TheHill

Americans’ fear about the spread of COVID-19 is on the rise amid the spread of the omicron variant, a new poll showed. 

The poll, conducted by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that 36 percent of Americans said they were very or extremely worried that they or a family member would contract the virus, up from  25 percent in late October. 

Despite the uptick in concerns, fewer Americans said they were regularly wearing masks or isolating compared the beginning of the year, according to the survey. 

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In February 2021, 72 percent of Americans were avoiding unnecessary travel, and 77 percent were staying out of large groups. But as of December, those figures stood at 53 percent and 57 percent, respectively. 

Masking also decreased as 57 percent of people surveyed wore a mask around others in December compared to 82 percent in February.

The poll included a sampling of 1,089 adults and was conducted between Dec. 2-7. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. 

via thehill.com

Huh. I can see being a bit worried about Delta but the Omicron variant seems to be a nothing burger or maybe even an easy way to pick up some natural immunity.