Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for July 21, 2021

Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day

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By Scott Rasmussen

The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

July 21, 2021: Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters believe the worst of the pandemic is behind us. That’s down nineteen points over the past six weeks and the lowest level of optimism since late January.

A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that 33% take the opposite view and think the worst is still to come. Thirty percent (30%) are not sure.

Confidence fell significantly among Republicans, Democrats, and independents. However, Republicans remain far more upbeat than other voters. By a 49% to 26% margin, Republicans tend to believe the worst is behind us. Democrats, by a 39% to 31% margin, take the opposite view. Among independent voters, 23% believe the worst is behind us, while 34% believe the worst is yet to come.

Throughout 2020, public confidence about the pandemic resembled a roller-coaster ride:

• Optimism bounced up and down between August and October.

• Following the election last fall, confidence fell sharply. In late November, 68% believed that the worst was still to come. However, following the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, confidence surged.

• By late January, 33% of voters believed the worst of the pandemic was behind us, while 40% believed the worst was still to come.

• Then, in mid-February, for the first time ever, a plurality of voters believed that the worst was behind us. At that point, 39% took the optimistic view, while 31% gave a more pessimistic answer.

• After that surge, the trend of growing confidence appeared to stall. From mid-February to mid-April, there was little change in public confidence.

• Beginning in mid-April, optimism soared once again.

• Now, these latest numbers suggest we are now witnessing the biggest drop in confidence since last summer.

	Worst of Pandemic is Behind Us	Worst of Pandemic is Still to Come	Net
July 15-17	37%	33%	+4%
May 27-29	56%	20%	+36%
May 20-22	52%	21%	+31%
Apr. 29-May 1	50%	24%	+26%
Apr. 15-17	41%	32%	+9%
Mar. 4-6	42%	28%	+14%
Feb. 18-20	39%	31%	+8%
Jan. 28-30	33%	40%	-7%
Dec. 10-12	21%	62%	-41%
Nov. 27-28	18%	68%	-50%
Nov. 12-14	22%	62%	-40%
Oct. 15-17	22%	56%	-34%
Oct. 8-10	27%	52%	-25%
Oct. 1-3	24%	55%	-31%
Sept. 3-5	29%	49%	-20%
Aug. 13-15	20%	59%	-39%
July 23-25	15%	63%	-48%
June 4-6	29%	42%	-13%
April 9-11	16%	60%	-44%

By a 46% to 31% margin, those who say they will never get vaccinated say the worst is behind us. Those who say they are supportive of vaccines are somewhat less upbeat. Still, by a 37% to 32% margin, vaccine-supportive voters narrowly tend to think the worst is behind us. However, by a 36% to 30% margin, those who are vaccine reluctant believe the worst is yet to come.

Vaccine-reluctant voters include those who want to wait and see how it works before getting vaccinated and those who are in no particular rush to get vaccinated. These results may suggest a significant difference of opinion between those who will never get vaccinated and those who are reluctant to do so at this time.

Data released yesterday show that vaccine-reluctant voters are strongly opposed to President Biden’s call for a door-to-door campaign designed to encourage more vaccinations.

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Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.

• July 20, 2021 -74 percent of vaccine-reluctant voters oppose door-to-door campaign to encourage more vaccinations
• July 19, 2021 -42 percent of voters believe technology and social media companies undermine positive culture in America
• July 16, 2021 -59 percent of voters are confident that votes are accurately counted in U.S. elections
• July 15, 2021 -54 percent of voters believe immigration priority should be based upon skills, not family
• July 14, 2021 -47 percent of voters approve of Democrats in Congress, 41% approve of Republicans in Congress

• To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.

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Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.

The Number of the Day is broadcast on local stations across the country. An archive of these broadcasts can be found here.

Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

Ballotpedia is the nonprofit, nonpartisan Encyclopedia of American Politics.

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See also

• Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine distribution by state
• Federal government responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021