34 Percent Say Worst of Pandemic is Behind Us; 38 Percent Disagree, Poll Shows

July 28, 2021: Thirty-four percent (34%) of voters now believe the worst of the pandemic is behind us. That’s down three points from a week ago and 22 points over the past two months.[1][2][3]

A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that a slightly larger number — 38% of voters — believe the worst is still to come. That’s up five points from a week ago and 18 points since late May.[1]

This is the first time since the vaccine rollout in January that a plurality of voters has said the worst is yet to come.[1]

While confidence among all segments of the population has fallen over the past two months, the decline is sharpest among Democrats and independents.[1]

Compared to last week, Republicans' responses are essentially unchanged. By a 50% to 25% margin, GOP voters tend to believe the worst is behind us.[1]

However, 47% of Democrats now believe the worst is yet to come, up eight points from a week ago. Just 26% of Democrats believe the worst is behind us.[1]

Among independent voters, 45% believe the worst is yet to come. That’s up 11 points over the past week.[1]

Throughout 2020, public confidence about the pandemic resembled a roller-coaster ride:

● Optimism bounced up and down between August and October.[4][5][6][7]

● Following the election last fall, confidence fell sharply. In late November, 68% believed that the worst was still to come. However, following the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, confidence surged.[8][9]

● By late January, 33% of voters believed the worst of the pandemic was behind us, while 40% believed the worst was still to come.[10]

● Then, in mid-February, for the first time ever, a plurality of voters believed that the worst was behind us. At that point, 39% took the optimistic view, while 31% gave a more pessimistic answer.[11]

● After that surge, the trend of growing confidence appeared to stall. From mid-February to mid-April, there was little change in public confidence.[11][12][13]

● Beginning in mid-April, optimism soared once again.[13]

● Confidence peaked in late May, and we are now witnessing the biggest drop in confidence since last summer.[3]

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is a political analyst, author, public speaker, independent public opinion pollster and columnist for Creators Syndicate. Read Scott Rasmussen's Reports — More Here.

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