Welcome to the Number of the Day

February 2, 2021

The arrival of COVID-19 vaccines has dramatically decreased pessimism about the coronavirus pandemic. A Scott Rasmussen national survey conducted January 28-30 found that 33% of voters believe the worst of the pandemic is behind us, while 40% believe the worst is still to come.[1]

While the overall numbers still reflect a slightly pessimistic assessment, the numbers represent a remarkable turnaround since vaccine distribution has become a reality. Last October, just before the presidential election, 56% of voters believed the worst was yet to come. That pessimistic view grew to 68% just a few weeks after the election and remained above 60% for the rest of the year.[1]

So, the number with a pessimistic view has fallen 28 percentage points—from 68% to 40%—in just a couple of months.[1]

On the flip side, the number who believe the worst is behind us has nearly doubled—from 18% in late November to 33% in late January.[1]

Among the still relatively small number of voters who have already been vaccinated, a plurality (41%) now believes the worst is behind us.[1]

A plurality of Republicans (43%) now believes the worst is behind us, while a plurality of Democrats (48%) believes the worst is still to come.[1]

The table below highlights selected results showing trends over the past few months.[1][2]