The number of Americans who think there will be a return to normal in the next six months or earlier is increasing, according to the results of the new Axios-Ipsos survey released on Tuesday. Now, 40% of respondents think that is the case, compared with 26% at the end of January.
And the number that it thinks will take a year or more to return to normal is decreasing further, now 17% compared to 30% at the end of January. The survey, conducted from March 5 to 8, was based on a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Americans aged 18 and over.
In the survey, 20% say they do not know when they will return to pre-coronavirus activity levels for personal meetings away from home or for dinner at a restaurant. The rest have a mixture of responses – 30% say they have already attended face-to-face meetings, 29% say they will go as soon as they or everyone in their circle is vaccinated, 21% say they will when the authorities say it is safe and 20% do not know.
As 25% of respondents reported having received the vaccine, the vast majority of respondents say they will continue with public health measures even after vaccination, with 81% saying they would continue to wear a mask, 66% continuing their social distance and 87% saying they would will continue to wash or sanitize their hands frequently.
As these numbers change, so does the number of Americans who stay at home and avoid contact with others and engage in social interactions outside the home.
The number of Americans who say they are avoiding contact, 13%, is the lowest since October, and is down six points from the previous month. The number of Americans who visited family or friends last week – 44% – increased seven points from the previous month.
The survey also looked at the personal benefits experienced since the beginning of the pandemic. He found that 36% said spending more time at home was the biggest personal benefit experienced, 33% said spending less / saving more was the biggest personal benefit, and a quarter noted that spending more time with the family.
There was also “some cautious optimism” about finances, with fewer people saying their ability to pay their rent or mortgage had worsened and fewer said they were temporarily released or suspended from work.
Finally, the research looked at how the pandemic affected dreams. He found that 1 in 3 Americans reported strange or vivid dreams in the last month, a quarter had stressful or frightening dreams and less than 1 in 10 had specific dreams for coronavirus.