Will the COVID pandemic ever end? What Americans say in new poll
Now five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s time to ask the question of whether COVID-19 is behind us or if the virus is here to stay.
COVID-19 was designated as a pandemic March 11, 2020, by the World Health Organization, and three years later downgraded to a public health emergency.
Former President Joe Biden rescinded the executive order declaring COVID-19 a public health emergency in May, and many health officials believed the virus has become endemic, or part of the regular illnesses you could be exposed to like the flu or common cold.
Now, YouGov asked Americans how they view the pandemic today and how it truly impacted the past half-decade of their lives in a new poll published March 28. The group surveyed 1,134 U.S. adults between March 3 and 5, and it has a margin of error of about 4%.
Here is what they said.
Most Americans say pandemic is over
More than half of respondents, 51% agreed that “COVID-19 is no longer a pandemic,” according to the report.
When broken down by political affiliation, 61% of Republicans agreed with the statement while only 39% of Democrats agreed.
About one-fifth of adults, 21%, said COVID-19 is still a pandemic but is on its way to ending, including 16% of Republicans and 31% of Democrats.
Roughly another fifth of respondents, 19%, said they believed the pandemic “will never end,” including 23% of Democrats and 15% of Republicans, according to the report.
Majority of Americans agree with pandemic-era decisions, despite impacts
About half of respondents said they definitely contracted COVID-19 over the past five years, while the other half said they didn’t or probably didn’t catch the virus.
“About three-quarters of Americans 74% say the COVID-19 pandemic affected at least a few of their major life decisions. 27% say it affected a few of their major life decisions, 27% say it affected some of them, 14% say it affected many of them, and 6% say it affected most of them,” YouGov reported. “Democrats, 80%, are more likely than Independents, 74%, and Republicans, 68%, to say the pandemic affected at least a few of their major life decisions.”
Direct impacts from the pandemic ranged from “changes to travel habits” to experiencing the death of a friend or family member due to the virus, according to the report. More Democrats noted changes in their personal hobbies and interests than Republicans, as well as changes to travel.
Despite the majority of Americans noting specific negative impacts, overall adults still believe the work from home order and social distancing were the right decision, according to the report.
Nearly three-fourths of Americans, 71%, said requiring work-from-home was the right decision, while 68% of U.S. adults agreed requiring masks inside was the right choice.
The majority, 60%, agreed with the choice to move schools to remote learning, and 65% agreed with the policy to send stimulus payments to American families, according to the report.
We need to prepare for the next pandemic, Americans say
Exactly half of respondents said they believe the United States should be doing more to prepare for pandemics in the future, even after COVID-19, according to the report.
This is up from only 35% of Americans in June of last year, in the face of rising bird flu and measles cases.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say the U.S. should be doing more, 71% compared to 31%, but fewer than 5% of Americans believed the country should be doing less for pandemic preparedness.
“If another serious pandemic occurs in the future, 58% of Americans would favor requiring face masks. 83% of Democrats and 33% of Republicans would favor this,” YouGov said.
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Will the COVID pandemic ever end? What Americans say in new poll."
