Most unvaccinated Americans believe the risks around the Delta coronavirus variant have been “exaggerated,” according to a poll from the Washington Post and ABC News.
Of those surveyed, 30% said they have not yet been vaccinated and are unlikely to do so. Around 73% of that group also believed health officials are overstating and exaggerating the risks of the more contagious Delta variant. Nearly 80% of the same group said they have little or no risk of catching COVID-19.
“Partisan divisions are sharp, underscoring the politicization of the pandemic,” researchers wrote. “Even as things stand, emergence from the pandemic is far from complete.”
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Overall, researchers found just 45% of people think the government is accurately describing the Delta variant’s risk. Another 35% feel health officials are exaggerating. Republicans (57%), conservatives (55%), evangelical white Protestants (49%), and rural residents (47%) were all especially likely to believe the government had overemphasized the virus variant.
President Joe Biden announced a new White House effort Tuesday to go door-to-door in some neighborhoods, encouraging people to get vaccinated. The Biden administration had said it hoped to have at least 70% of the country partially vaccinated by July 4 but missed that goal. On Wednesday, the number of Americans who had received at least one shot still hovered just above 67%.
More than half the country feels the U.S. has learned valuable lessons that will help through the next pandemic, but less than a third of those are confident of that, said the survey.
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