Washington, Nov 16 (FN Agency) Seventy percent of Americans fear a second pandemic in their lifetimes, with less than half confident that the US will be fully prepared to mount an effective response, a Morning Consult poll said on Tuesday. “New Morning Consult polling indicates the issue remains top of mind for the American public: 70 percent of adults are concerned about another pandemic happening in their lifetime, while just 47 percent think the country will be prepared to handle the public health impact of another health crisis of COVID-19’s magnitude,” a press release explaining the poll said.
Despite the skepticism, a 62% majority believe the US government response to the next pandemic will improve due to lessons learned from COVID-19, the findings show. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed cracks in the country’s public health infrastructure, and healthcare advocacy groups say now is the time to invest in shoring up data systems that can help alert officials to emerging outbreaks — and stop them from becoming pandemics, the release added. The survey of 2,200 US adults was conducted November 3-5, according to the release.