According to Economist/YouGov data, half (51%) of registered voters believe the COVID-19 pandemic will get worse in the United States.
Related: COVID-19: Half of voters believe the worst is yet to come
But why do YouGov Chat users think COVID-19 will get worse in the US? We asked our Chat users to dig deeper and tell us what they think. You can join the conversation here.
Some Chat users say they expect the pandemic to get worse because the cold weather will drive more people inside.
- “It's Flu season and people will spend more time indoors.”
- “People are inside more and some irresponsible people will still hold large gatherings.”
- “People are not as strict about safety protocols. More indoor gatherings as the weather changes. Fewer open doors and windows.”
Others point to the upcoming holidays...
- “People will want to visit during the holidays. That is when it spreads, during large family gatherings.”
- “It's the holidays and people will get together in large groups and spread the virus.”
- “Weather getting colder and having to move inside, holidays coming up and families will want to spend time together...”
In addition to the weather and holidays, some Chat users say Americans have COVID-19 fatigue and will start to dismiss safety guidelines.
- “Weather will keep people from being outside, people not wearing masks and getting tired of taking precautions.”
- “The holidays will cause people to gather, more folks are inside and not in fresh air, people are tired of masks and have gotten sloppy.”
For YouGov Chat users who say they believe the coronavirus pandemic will get better this fall and winter, many say there is more awareness around the virus, and that they believe a vaccine will be developed soon.
- "We are learning a lot about it and how to fight it and a vaccine is coming soon."
- "The medical professionals are learning more about this novel virus daily…"
- "More awareness of symptoms and therapeutics."
- "Vaccines are on the horizon…"
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Every day, members of YouGov Chat are asked to share their opinion on a topic in the news. We allow anyone to take part in these chats, and do not display or weight results in real-time. Instead, to make the experience informative but still interactive, the chat displays weighted data from YouGov Direct to show them how the rest of the country voted. This enables us to pose the question to all, while retaining data accuracy and validity when communicating results.
YouGov chat seeks to add to the ‘what?’ (the quantitative poll result) by finding the ‘why?” (qualitative open ends) in a member’s own words. Learn more about YouGov Chat here.
Image: YouGov
