As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in several states, many Americans are grimly wondering: could things get worse?
Recent data from The Economist/YouGov polling finds that with regards to COVID-19, 44 percent of Americans believe that the worst is yet to come.
About one-quarter of Americans say they think we are currently in the worst part of it, while just under one in five (18%) think the worst part of the pandemic has already passed.
Adults under 30 years old are less likely (35%) than older Americans to believe that the COVID-19 pandemic is going to get worse. Those between 30 and 44 (46%), and those between 45 and 64 (48%) are far more likely to think the situation will worsen. Similarly, 46 percent of those over 65 think the pandemic will get worse.
Among Americans who say they would vote for Biden if the election were held today, a majority (70%) think that the COVID-19 pandemic is going to get worse. These likely Biden voters are nearly four times more likely than probable Trump voters (18%) to say things will get worse.
About four in 10 (39%) of those who say they would vote for Trump in a trial heat believe that the worst part of the pandemic has already come and gone. Just one in twenty (5%) Biden supporters agrees.
See the toplines and crosstabs from this week’s Economist/YouGov Poll
Methodology: The most recent Economist survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,500 US adult citizens interviewed online between July 19 - 21, 2020. The approximate margin of error is 3.2 percentage points for the overall sample. Samples are weighted according to gender, age, race, and education based on the American Community Survey, conducted by the US Bureau of the Census, as well as 2016 Presidential vote, registration status, geographic region, and news interest. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all US citizens.
Image: Getty
