Monmouth Poll: Fewer Expect US Back to Normal by Summer

The number of Americans who expect the country to return to normal by summer after more than a year of coronavirus restrictions is dwindling, according to a new Monmouth University Poll.

According to the poll, published Monday, 21% of respondents said they expect the United States will "be able to return to normal" in the next "month or two" or "by the summer." That figure is down from 29% in January, according to the same poll.

According to the poll, 40% said they do not expect to see normalcy before the end of the year, and 27% said it would be "later than that."

Nine percent of those surveyed said they do not believe the country will ever return to the state of normal that it was in before COVID-19 hit. That figure is up from 6% in January.

"Most Americans feel that 'normal' is still many months away and perhaps a little farther down the road than initially hoped for during [President Biden's] first days in office," said, Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

The poll also found 25% of Americans do not plan to take the vaccine, and 38% plan to get it as soon as it is available. That latter figure is down from 50% in January.

The poll sampled 802 adults Feb. 25-March 1 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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