Thursday, March 19, 2020

What are Americans doing about coronavirus, and who do they trust for information?














At USA Today on March 12, 2020 there is an article by Susan Page and Joel Shannon titled Exclusive poll: Americans are more worried about finances than their health amid coronavirus outbreak. It discusses results from Ipsos described in detail here. They surveyed 1005 adults -  408 Republicans, 420 Democrats, and 109 Independents. As is shown above, 47% thought there was a threat to both the global economy and stock market, 34% thought there was a threat to the United States, but only 15% thought there was a threat to them personally.



 The poll asked about nine things and None of the Above that people had already done or had plans to do about coronavirus. As shown above in a pair of charts, the answers for done (or planned were very similar for the top five. 54% had (and 59% planned) washing hands frequently. 35% did (and 30% planned) none of the above. 18% decided (and 25% planned) to stop attending social events. 13% shifted shopping to online (and 18% planned to). 11% canceled a personal trip (and 17% planned to).  
















Who do people trust as information providers? As shown above in a chart 79% trust the Centers for Disease Control (almost 4 out of 5) and 71% trust the World Health Organization. 53% trust their state governor. Just 39% trust the news media or Vice President Pence, 38% trust President Trump, and only 35% trust the U. S. Congress.  



























Democrats and Republicans have large differences in rankings for who they trust. Two charts are shown above. Both have a high trust in the Centers for Disease Control – 86% for Democrats and 79% for Republicans. 86% of Democrats also trust the World Health Organization, but only 64% of Republicans do. 57% of Democrats trust their state governor, as do 54% of Republicans.  Only 16% of Democrats trust the Vice President and only 14% trust the President.  But 72% of Republicans trust the President and  71% trust the Vice President. 56% of Democrats trust the news media, but only 23% of Republicans do. Only 39% of Democrats and 35% of Republicans trust the U.S. Congress.   
















Another chart shows rankings for the much smaller group of Independents. 68% trust the Centers for Disease Control and 63% trust the World Health Organization

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