Earlier this week, President Joe Biden shortened the deadline for states to make every American adult eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. He had previously set a deadline of May 1, but yesterday announced that every adult American will be eligible by April 19.
New data from YouGov suggests that many Americans see this as a realistic goal. Two in five (40%) think it’s very likely that COVID-19 vaccines will be widely available to the US public by April 19. A similar number (36%) believe it is somewhat likely.
Democrats (48%) are more likely than Independents (35%) and Republicans (33%) to believe it is very likely this benchmark will be reached. But across party lines, majorities say it is likely that this April 19 deadline can be met.
In his remarks, Biden cautioned that even with eligibility expanding this month, the pandemic is not over.
“Let me be deadly earnest with you: We aren’t at the finish line. We still have a lot of work to do. We’re still in a life and death race against this virus,” he said.
It seems many Americans agree. Recent polling from YouGov finds that 25% of Americans believe coronavirus poses the greatest threat to the United States right now, more than political division (18%), race relations (10%), biased media coverage (8%), or immigration (8%).
Although the pandemic still poses a considerable threat, many do believe things are getting better. YouGov’s COVID-19 tracker finds that as of March 25, 2021, 72% believe the coronavirus situation is getting better in the US.
Related: Americans are feeling happy and hopeful about the idea of the COVID-19 pandemic ending
Methodology: 12,159 US adults were surveyed between April 6 – 7, 2021. The responding sample is weighted to be representative of the US population.
Image: Getty
