A new poll shows nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the risk of deadly pandemics is rising.
A survey published Friday by the Pandemic Action Network shows three years of the COVID-19 pandemic has left a lasting impact on a large majority of Americans.
According to the survey, 61% of Americans strongly agreed or agreed with the statement: "We are now in an era of increasing risk due to deadly infectious disease outbreaks and pandemic threats that can land at our doorstep in a matter of days."
Only 20% of those polled disagreed with that statement.
"The results of this poll show that COVID-19 has been an experience of significant hardship for many, that Americans are carrying the impact of COVID-19 with them, and their experiences during the COVID crisis are shaping their concern about future pandemics," the poll noted. "They are aware that the risk of pandemics is growing, and they want the federal government to invest in pandemic preparedness."
The survey showed that roughly two-thirds of Americans think the federal government was not prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 4% felt that the government was "very prepared." At the same time, most of those polled are under the impression that the government will take the necessary steps to be better prepared for the next pandemic.
"When asked how prepared the U.S. is for the next pandemic, one-third of respondents said that the U.S. is only about as prepared for the next pandemic as we were for COVID-19," the poll noted. "However, about half of respondents presume that the U.S. has in fact improved our systems — 49% of respondents believe the U.S. is more prepared for the next pandemic than before COVID-19."
A strong majority of Americans want to see the federal government invest more in pandemic preparedness both at home and abroad, according to the poll. Almost all (88%) respondents agreed that pandemic investment by the
federal government was important to them to at least some degree.
A majority of those polled said they'd be willing to spend taxpayer dollars to strengthen pandemic preparedness, and most Americans polled were
willing to see U.S. defense spending directed in part to pandemic preparedness.
"Americans would be willing to voluntarily and directly contribute as much as $83.5 billion per year to bolster U.S. and global pandemic preparedness," the poll said.
When asked to pick the top three reasons why it might be important to strengthen pandemic preparedness, the overwhelming majority (77.5%) chose saving lives as one of the top three reasons, and 63% of the sample picked it as the number one reason, according to the poll.
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