Poll: Most Think COVID Risk 'Small' for Independence Day Gatherings

While most Americans say getting together for the Fourth of July holiday on Sunday has a risk for spreading COVID-19, that risk is small, a new poll found.

According to the Axios-Ipsos poll results released Tuesday, a combined 59% percent of Americans feel there is a “small risk” (36%) or “no risk” (23%) in attending a celebration on July 4.

Just 14% see such gatherings as a large risk and 27% see it as a moderate risk this year.

Those numbers have dropped significantly from a similar poll taken last year, at the height of the pandemic.

That poll showed a combined 78% of Americans fearing either a “large risk” (45%) or “moderate risk” (33%), some 17% called it a “small risk,” and only 6% felt there was “no risk.”

The availability and reported effectiveness of the three vaccines, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, seem to be making an impact and easing fears this year.

"America (has) moved on," said Cliff Young, president of Ipsos U.S. Public Affairs. "The way Americans perceive the world has changed because of the vaccine. The vaccine and then, governments at every level saying it’s ok to go out: it’s those in combination."

Despite faith in the vaccines and the winding down of restrictions imposed during the pandemic, a majority of 55% said they are still wearing masks when they leave their homes.

While that is a significant percentage, the poll said it is the lowest “share” of respondents since the question was first asked last April.

There is also a minority of 14% that said they think they may have had the virus since the start of the pandemic, but were never tested, or never tested positive, according to the poll.

Officials are still cautious about the “Delta variant” of the virus possibly increasing cases in the United States.

According to the poll, 84% said they were aware of the new strain and of those, 72% said they were “concerned” about it.

Only 40% said they would self-quarantine, and less than 60% said they would stop visiting family and friends, or stop non-grocery shopping trips, if cases began to spike in their states.

A larger number, however, said they would stop socializing outside the home if their state’s governor or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised it.

The poll was conducted June 25-28 by Ipsos Knowledge Panel with a nationally representative sample of 1,016 adults over the age of 18 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points, according to the organization.

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