NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — It appears most Americans have had enough of the pandemic.
A new Monmouth University poll released Wednesday found 60% of Americans feel "worn out" due to COVID and its impact on daily life.
About 45% of those surveyed said they're angry about the changes they've had to make to adjust to living in a COVID world.
Polling director Patrick Murray told WCBS 880 anchor Steve Scott that Republicans and Democrats alike feel worn out, but Republicans are about twice as angry as Democrats.
"That means that things like vaccines, we still have about 20% percent of the adult population still hasn't gotten vaccinated yet, and they're unlikely to do that because they basically said, 'I've had enough and I don't think that this is going to spread any further, it's not gonna affect me,'" Murray said.
The poll found support for mask mandates also waning, along with support for vaccine mandates in the workplace.
"These are the things that people, I think, are going to just start saying 'I got to get on with my life' regardless of these surges that keep coming back to us," Murray said.
The pandemic fatigue appears to be affecting those under the age of 55 slightly more than older adults.
"We found that folks over the age of 55, 63% say, 'Yea, I'm feeling worn out about this' or 'I'm feeling angry about this,' but if you look at under 55 it's 74% say it. So that number is higher," Murray said. "I think what you have is when you look at older populations, while they're more vulnerable in many ways to the disease in terms of it affecting their lifestyle and what they have to do, probably had less impact than younger folks who have kids at home, had to deal with schools and all those things that have really kind of done it in for them."
The polling institute found that the public's exasperation could be having an impact on their views of political leaders and their handling of the pandemic.
“The fact that Americans say they have had enough should be no surprise. Every time we try to adjust to a new normal, another variant pops up to put us on guard again. This perpetual unease is having an impact on how we view those charged with handling the pandemic,” said Murray.
Specifically, about 46% said President Joe Biden has done a good job handling the pandemic, but Murray notes that's the first time since he's taken office that the number has dipped below 50%.
Meanwhile, about 30% of those surveyed did not express any negative feelings, saying they're not angry or worn out.
"I think probably we need to talk a little bit more to them maybe get some advice from them on how they handle this and and hopefully we can do the same," Murray said.