Americans split on workplace vaccine mandates: poll

Americans are narrowly divided on whether companies should be allowed to require employees to prove their vaccination status before returning to work in person, according to a new poll. 

A total of 52 percent of Americans say they support requiring proof of vaccine status to return to places of employment, according to the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index poll published this week. Along political lines, 76 percent of Democrats support showing vaccine status to return to the workplace compared to less than a third, 29 percent, of Republicans saying the same thing. 

A majority of Americans in the poll support requiring vaccination and proof of vaccination to travel or attend a large event, the poll found. Nearly half, 47 percent, said they support places of business like bars and restaurants requiring proof of vaccination to dine indoors.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month lifted guidance requiring face coverings while indoors and in public for fully vaccinated people. Unvaccinated Americans and those who have not been fully vaccinated are still recommended to wear a face covering while in public. 

The CDC said this week about 171.3 million people in America have received at least one coronavirus vaccine shot, including about 139.7 million people who have been fully vaccinated, The New York Times reported. President Biden has stated he wishes to see 70 percent of all U.S. adults vaccinated by the July 4 holiday. 

A separate poll published Monday found more than 3 in 4 Americans who have yet to receive a coronavirus vaccine say it is unlikely they ever will. 

The new Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index poll reported that 1 in 5, about 19 percent, say they are not at all likely to get the vaccine. 

The poll was conducted June 4-7 among 1,027 people. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.