Nearly 2 in 3 People say menace of lethal pandemics is rising: ballot

A brand new ballot reveals practically two-thirds of People imagine the danger of lethal pandemics is rising within the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a survey printed Friday by the Pandemic Motion Community, 61 p.c of People strongly agreed or agreed with the assertion that “we at the moment are in an period of accelerating threat resulting from lethal infectious illness outbreaks and pandemic threats that may land at our doorstep in a matter of days.” Solely 20 p.c of these polled disagreed with that assertion.

When requested about whether or not the nation was ready for the COVID-19 pandemic, 45 p.c of respondents mentioned that america authorities was “very unprepared” and 24 p.c mentioned the federal government was “considerably” unprepared. Simply 4 p.c mentioned the U.S. was “very ready.”

Most People mentioned they needed to see the federal government spend extra on pandemic preparedness, with over 60 p.c saying they wish to see extra federal and state spending. Moreover, 46 p.c mentioned they assist funding pandemic preparedness on a worldwide degree and 53 p.c of these respondents say that they assist strengthening world preparedness to forestall lethal outbreaks from spreading to america.

The ballot additionally discovered that experiences of non-public loss resulting from COVID-19 drove respondents’ considering when requested about pandemic preparedness. The highest cause for strengthening pandemic responses amongst respondents was that it may save lives.

“All in all, respondents persistently agreed with the concept that pandemic preparedness must be a precedence for presidency funding,” the ballot acknowledged. “Regardless of how the query was requested, or what particular kind of funding or supply of funding was thought-about, individuals needed to see the federal government prioritize funding for pandemic preparedness.”

The ballot was run by YouGov and surveyed 2,000 People from Jan. 4-19.