Americans are reluctant to attend sporting events, concerts and other public gatherings before there is a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, recent polling showed Tuesday.
Conducted this month as millions of Americans remained subjected to statewide stay-at-home orders, the Reuters/Ipsos poll gauged opinions about returning to normal without a proven vaccine existing for COVID-19, the highly contagious and potentially deadly respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus responsible for the ongoing global outbreak.
Fewer than half of 4,429 adults surveyed said they would go to sports events, concerts, movie theaters and amusement parks when they reopen if a vaccine for COVID-19 is not available yet, Reuters reported.
Among respondents who said they followed sports avidly and frequented arts and entertainment venues and amusement parks before they became shuttered by the outbreak, roughly four out of 10 said they would resume their ways if possible prior to a COVID-19 vaccine becoming available, Reuters reported. Another four in ten said they would be willing to wait as long as more than a year for a vaccine before returning to normal, and the rest said they either “don’t know” what to do or may not attend those types of events again, according to the report.
Public health experts have said a vaccine for COVID-19 may take as many as 18 months to develop, indicating the outbreak may continue to wreak havoc through the rest of the year.
More than half of all American adults surveyed – 55% – said none of the events should resume before a vaccine for COVID-19 becomes available, Reuters reported.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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