One-third of Americans in new survey say pandemic is over

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans questioned in a new survey said that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, with many stating their top concern now is spreading the virus to people who are at higher risk of serious illness.

In the Axios-Ipsos poll, 31 percent of respondents said that the pandemic is over and 69 percent disagreed.

Perception of the pandemic varied across party lines, with 59 percent of Republicans, 27 percent of independents and 10 percent of Democrats surveyed saying the pandemic is over.

Additionally, 32 percent of respondents said their top current concern with the virus is spreading it to people who are at higher risk of serious illness, which was consistent regardless of party affiliation.

Among those who were unvaccinated, 31 percent said their top concern is dealing with restrictions in their daily life.

Overall, 74 percent say that the pandemic is still a problem, but manageable, while 14 percent describe it as a serious problem.

As views on the pandemic begin to soften, the poll also found that people have resumed activities outside the home, with 65 percent saying they are dining out, 69 percent visiting loved ones and 61 percent going shopping. The percentages of Americans who report participating in these activities has remained unchanged since April.

The poll was conducted May 13-16 among 982 adults. It has a margin of error of 3 to 3.5 percentage points.

On Monday, the U.S. reached 1 million reported deaths from COVID-19 and has more deaths per capita than Western Europe or Canada.