COVID 19 - Public Concern Heightens
April 16, 2020
Purpose
This report shares real-time data from a poll Zeeto has been running that tracks changes to public concern about the coronavirus epidemic, as well as changes to public opinion on the response of the federal and state governments.
Methodology
Since March 17, we have surveyed over 72,000 US citizens nationwide with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of +/- 3-6 percentage points depending on the subset of data being looked at. Each chart displays its details regarding statistical significance.
First we asked the following question: “What's your main concern about the coronavirus pandemic?”
Answers
- The availability of testing
- The availability of food, water and other necessities
- The government's response
- Everything in this list is very concerning
- I’m still not concerned about the coronavirus
To control for positional bias, we rotated the first four answers every time the poll was run. People who were not concerned about the coronavirus (19%) did not move on to the next round.
Next we asked the following question: “What's your opinion about the Federal Government's response to the coronavirus pandemic?”
- I think it has been great
- I think it has been really good
- I think it could have been better
- I think it has been horrible
- I don’t have an opinion
Once again, we systematically rotated the first four answers to control for positional bias. All of the people moved on to the next round.
Finally we asked the following question: “What's your opinion about your State Government's response to the coronavirus pandemic?”
- I think it has been great
- I think it has been really good
- I think it could have been better
- I think it has been horrible
- I don’t have an opinion
Results
“What's your main concern about the coronavirus pandemic?”
Americans have grown more concerned about the coronavirus epidemic over time. 47% of Americans are currently very concerned, answering “everything in this list is very concerning,” which is up from 36% one month earlier. From March 17 to April 13, fewer Americans answered, “I’m still not concerned about the coronavirus,” dropping from 26% to 14%. Americans most concerned about the availability of food, water and other necessities have slightly decreased over time, whereas Americans most concerned about the availability of testing as well as the government's response have slightly increased (see graph A). While both females and males have grown more concerned over time, females remain more likely than males to be very concerned. 53% of females are currently very concerned, which is up from 40% one month earlier. In contrast, 41% of males are currently very concerned, which is up from 31%. Females have been slightly more concerned about the availability of food, water and other necessities, whereas males have been slightly more concerned about the availability of testing as well as the government’s response (see graphs B and C). Baby boomers have been more likely than Gen X and millennials to be very concerned, increasing from 41% on March 17 to 52% on April 13 (see graphs D, E, and F). Our poll did not start tracking political identification until April 2, so the fluctuations over time are not as significant. Currently, nearly half of all Americans irrespective of political identification are very concerned. Democrats and independents have been least concerned about the availability of testing, consistently around 10%, whereas Republicans have been least concerned about the government’s response, consistently below 10%. (see graphs G, H, and I)
“What's your opinion about the Federal Government's response to the coronavirus pandemic?”
Americans as a whole have grown more critical of the Federal Government’s response to the coronavirus epidemic over time. 36% currently think the Federal Government’s response could have been better and 18% think it has been horrible. Taken together, this amounts to 54% of Americans who disapprove of the Federal Government’s response, which is up from 44% one month earlier. In contrast, 18% of Americans currently think the Federal Government’s response has been really good and 13% think it has been great. Another 15% do not have an opinion (see graph J). While more than half of females and males currently disapprove of the Federal Government’s response, females have grown more critical over time, from 41% on March 17 to 57% on April 13 (see graphs K and L). 57% of Gen X currently disapprove of the Federal Government’s response, closely followed by 55% of millennials and 55% of baby boomers (see graphs M, N, and O). As for political identification, 67% of Democrats currently disapprove of the Federal Government’s response, compared to 55% of independents and 35% of Republicans. In contrast, over half of Republicans currently think the Federal Government’s response has been either really good or that it has been great, compared to 20% of Democrats and 25% of independents (see graphs P, Q, and R).
“What's your opinion about your State Government's response to the coronavirus pandemic?”
Opinions about state governments, whether critical or favorable, have fluctuated little since March 18. 43% of Americans currently disapprove of their State Government’s response, which is 10% less than the percentage of Americans who disapprove of the Federal Government’s response. Americans who currently approve of their State Government’s response is nearly the same at 43%. Another 14% do not have an opinion (see graph S). While nearly an equal percentage of females and males presently disapprove of their State Government’s response, females have grown more critical over time, from 36% to 43% in one month. In contrast, males have grown more favorable than females, from 36% on March 17 to 44% on April 14 (see graphs T and U). Within each generation, little has changed over time in the number of people who disapprove. 42% of baby boomers currently think their State Government’s response could have been better or that it has been horrible, compared to 45% of Gen X, and 46% of millennials. Comparatively, 39% of Gen X and millennials approve of their State Government’s response, compared to 44% of baby boomers (see graphs V, W, and X). Since we started tracking on April 2, the numbers within each political group have not fluctuated very much, but the differences between political groups are significant. Currently at 50%, Republicans are more likely than Democrats and independents to approve of their State Government’s response, compared to 42% of Democrats and 36% of independents. In contrast, 45% of Democrats and independents currently disapprove of their State Government’s response, compared to 38% of Republicans (see graphs Y, Z, and AA).
Appendix
“What's your main concern about the coronavirus pandemic?”
Graph A: National Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 3% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/O7LIY2Tfp4Dcuiy7e2j0nI
Graph B: Female Responses
Graph C: Male Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 3% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/xgc1VD2VtRxKpUyzqNXKrJ (change filter for male/female)
Graph D: Millennial Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/HLPbaWMeDGES05HLssmKPy
Graph E: Gen X Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/6KtN6swYhw0KPf2Z4p8x2o
Graph F: Baby Boomer Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 4% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/lgyXPl2P2ebtvhcHKwmVS1
Graph G: Republican Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 4% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/JAdM8oC1XW8ioP0jzRCJ3d
Graph H: Democrat Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 4% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/vAlhLO0oCP2tBWL6qg3noS
Graph I: Independent Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 4.5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/7lpmtiu5GGHiT0XlIWvzGT
“What's your opinion about the Federal Government's response to the coronavirus pandemic?”
Graph J: National Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 3% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/Yqp9GV8ECR5g9OgA54w7Xj
Graph K: Female Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 3.5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/qoYQWVixJOkQ6ZNemyUiDC
Graph L: Male Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 3.5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/to5CmRK1TRR1zqcySMP9cY
Graph M: Millennial Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 3.5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/oT8nwSJSyYIl2n8GTpTWz8
Graph N: Gen X Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/1vvZcJiEwjHJSAjCAi8DZ4
Graph O: Baby Boomer Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 4% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/ZRgwd0RveHgd1FGYNUSFUD
Graph P: Republican Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 4% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/8bT8WAFG3cRMmckzkK2k5K
Graph Q: Democrat Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 4% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/4aAxrkuMGFJdG5YnV9PPNP
Graph R: Independent Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 4.5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/luUTRCA9RAwLiwBAbE4pUR
“What's your opinion about your State Government's response to the coronavirus pandemic?”
Graph S: National Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 3% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/RN9P2ggBejehXbjgdU6mHY
Graph T: Female Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 3.5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/2byMwsvGTKqFcQL3dZ1M8r
Graph U: Male Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 4% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/JvEWIvupWSvPlOY5AhCv0Y
Graph V: Millennial Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 6% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/zAADSbwibXFSpvQjY4rHgZ
Graph W: Gen X Responses
● 95% ConfidenceInterval with 5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/dzS7qNq5NOOloIvWoH9udq
Graph X: Baby Boomer Responses
● 95% ConfidenceInterval with 4% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/O9aL11tyQ1U1KrIDJ5sJbU
Graph Y: Republican Responses
● 95% Confidence Interval with 4% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/ts0rq4nsuSx4e4ihWqYhJ5
Graph Z: Democrat Responses
● 95% ConfidenceInterval with 4% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/ryho2s9bhEk9EjRdcGd5W3
Graph AA: Independent Responses
● 95% ConfidenceInterval with 4.5% MOE
● https://zeetogroup.looker.com/x/LawMuPX2xlpY8c7S7ySE3o
Note: This poll is not sponsored by or affiliated with an outside party.
