Poll: 73% Of Americans Say The Pandemic Is Worsening, Half Worry About Hospital Capacity

Topline

A majority of Americans, 73%, think the coronavirus pandemic is getting worse and 50% worry about hospitals becoming overwhelmed, according to a Gallup poll published Thursday, as the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are hitting record highs but a vaccine rollout is imminent.

Key Facts

Key Background

The number of new daily coronavirus cases in the U.S. surpassed 200,000 for the first time on November 27, according to Johns Hopkins University data, and a record 3,124 Americans died of coronavirus on Wednesday. As cases have increased, the number of hospitalizations has surged. The number of Americans in the hospital with coronavirus crossed 100,000 for the first time on December 2 and has remained, with a record 106,671 people in the hospital Wednesday, 20,903 in intensive care units and 7,621 people on ventilators, according to Covid Tracking Project data.

Tangent

More than a third of Americans live in an area in which hospitals reported their intensive care units had less than 15% of beds available as of last week, according to a New York Times analysis of Department of Health and Human Services data. The Associated Press reports that hospitals in multiple states, including California, Idaho, Texas, Kansas and Maryland, have already become overwhelmed. Hospital leaders nationwide are rushing to hire more doctors and nurses and recruit retired ones, set up field hospitals to increase capacity and stop or limit nonessential surgeries and procedures, per the Wall Street Journal.

Surprising Fact

Republicans and Democrats have different levels of concern about the pandemic, with 95% of Democrats and 46% of Republicans saying the outbreak is escalating. While 71% of Democrats are worried about hospital capacity, just 20% of Republicans say the same. Republicans are more likely to say the upheaval caused by the pandemic will end faster, with 27% saying the disruption to school, work and public events will last a few weeks to a few months, compared to 5% of Democrats.

Further Reading

Views of U.S. Pandemic Worsen Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases (Gallup)

‘There’s No Place for Them to Go’: I.C.U. Beds Near Capacity Across U.S. (New York Times)

Covid-19 Hospitalizations, Single-Day Deaths Hit New U.S. Highs (Wall Street Journal)

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