Poll points to COVID-19 fatigue problem for Biden

A large majority of Americans are feeling tired and frustrated by the current state of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll, posing a lingering problem as the Biden administration struggles to turn the page on COVID-19.

A Kaiser Family Foundation survey published Friday found 75 percent of respondents described themselves as tired of the pandemic roughly two years after the first cases were detected domestically, including 74 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Republicans and 80 percent of independents.

More than 70 percent of each group described feeling frustrated by the state of the pandemic as well. 

The fatigue has resulted in a feeling of inevitability about contracting the virus, the poll found, with 77 percent of adults saying most people in the U.S. will eventually get the virus.

The survey reported roughly one-third of respondents view the pandemic as the country’s biggest problem, with another 28 percent saying rising prices due to inflation is the most pressing issue.

The Kaiser poll surveyed 1,536 adults in the U.S. from Jan. 11 to Jan. 23 via telephone. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The survey’s findings come as recent polling has shown President Biden’s approval ratings, and more specifically approval of his handling of the pandemic, have steadily declined as the country grapples with recurring waves of infections and debates over masking and vaccine mandates.

A Pew Research Center poll published earlier this week found Biden’s approval rating on the pandemic had dropped from 65 percent last March to 44 percent this month.

Biden in July delivered a speech saying the U.S. was ready to declare independence from COVID-19, but the six months since have seen the delta and omicron variants result in spikes in cases and hospitalizations, with the latter proving to be more mild, particularly for those who are vaccinated.

When Biden’s sinking approval ratings have come up in White House briefings, press secretary Jen Psaki has repeatedly cited frustration with the pandemic as a reason some Americans may be unsatisfied with the way things are going.