Five takeaways from NewsNation’s COVID-19 survey

(NewsNation Now) — NewsNation and Decision Desk HQ’s poll about the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed what many thought: Americans are transitioning from COVID-19 concerns to economic concerns such as inflation. But it also revealed registered voters’ thoughts on masks and vaccines, who they trust and who they may vote for this November.

Mask requirements are more popular than vaccine requirements

The poll found more people approve of indoor mask requirements than vaccine requirements — and by nearly 20 percentage points.

It comes as President Joe Biden’s vaccine-or-testing requirement for businesses with more than 100 employees awaits judgment from the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court’s six conservative justices seemed skeptical about the premise in oral arguments last week.

At least eight states have indoor mask mandates in effect, but only large cities such as New York and Chicago have enacted proof of vaccination requirements.

Most respondents trust their doctor. Hardly any trust Biden (or the news).

The respondents were asked to select as many answers as they wanted in response to the question: “When it comes to information about COVID-19, which of the following sources would you say you trust?”

“Your doctor” was the clear winner, with more than 60 percent of people selecting it. That’s in line with a recent Gallup survey that found 64 percent of Americans trusted their doctor’s advice, which was a 6 percent dip from 2010. However, fewer than 20 percent selected President Joe Biden and the news media in the NewsNation survey.

Dr. Anthony Fauci received support from a little less than one-third of respondents in the NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll, which is far below a December 2021 Gallup poll that found 52 percent of people approved of the job he was doing.

A majority disapprove of Biden’s performance — and most of them are leaning Republican for the next election

The 45 percent of respondents who either somewhat or strongly approve of Biden’s performance on the pandemic weighs in slightly more favorably to the president than a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday that found 33 percent approved.

What may be more troubling for Biden and Democrats is that 45 percent of NewsNation respondents said if the congressional midterms were held today, they’d vote for the Republican candidate in their district. It edges out the nearly 40 percent who said they’d vote for Democrats.

The pandemic is no longer front of mind for most Americans

Despite record numbers of cases and hospitalizations in some areas of the country, the COVID-19 pandemic did not beat out inflation as respondents’ number one concern.

It comes as the U.S. capped off 2021 with the biggest inflation jump in more than 40 years. Supply shortages and logistical headaches have thrown markets out of whack, leading prices to soar on just about every product imaginable.

Quinnipiac’s poll found 70 percent of Americans believe the country’s economy is in “not so good” or “poor” shape.

Half of the respondents have received a booster dose, but Black Americans are lagging behind

Nearly 50 percent of the registered voters surveyed said they’d been boosted, which is about 10 percent more than the general population of the same age, according to CDC data.

The CDC reports about 50.9 million adults have gotten a booster dose, or 40.1 percent.

Further analysis of the demographics show only 31 percent of Black respondents had been boosted, while at least 48 percent of other ethnicities have received a booster.

The NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll also found 73 percent of voters 55 and older were boosted, but the number plummets with each descending age bracket. Forty-six percent of voters 35-55 had a booster shot, and less than 29 percent of respondents younger than 35 received the extra dose.