Two-Thirds of US Adults Believe Life is Returning to Normal

Two-thirds of U.S. adults surveyed say their lives are either "somewhat" or "completely" back to normal now that many people are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, such as mask wearing and social distancing, are being lifted, according to a Gallup poll.

Gallup reports that 9% of those surveyed said their lives were completely back to normal, while 57% said life was somewhat normal. The remaining 34% surveyed said life had not returned to normal. 

The new numbers are in stark contrast to last fall’s Gallup poll, when a majority of those surveyed said life was not back to normal.

In the most recent survey, the results were the same when analyzed by gender, age, region, household income, parental status and employment status. One exception was for those who identified as Democrats. Democrats (57%) were less likely than independents (68%) or Republicans (77%) to say their lives are at least somewhat back to normal. 

The poll also shows that Americans are much more optimistic about the trajectory of the disease. Only 20% of those surveyed said they were very or somewhat worried that they will contract Covid-19, which is the lowest percentage Gallup recorded during the past 14 months. The highest was 59% in August 2020.

On July 8, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 183 million people 12 years or older, or 55% of the total U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. About 158 million people, or 48%, are fully vaccinated.

Nevertheless, the highly transmissible Delta variant is quickly spreading across the U.S., and CDC data shows it makes up more than 50% of all new Covid-19 cases. “This rapid rise is concerning and threatens the progress the United States has made toward ending the pandemic,” the CDC said this week.

The recent Gallup poll showed that 57% of those surveyed believe the coronavirus will continue to disrupt their lives through the end of 2021 or beyond. Meanwhile, 11% said they expect the disruption to continue a few more weeks, while 31% said a few more months.

For more information from the Gallup poll click here.