1 in 4 worried about catching COVID at work: Gallup

One in 4 U.S. workers say they are worried about contracting COVID-19 at their workplace, according to a new Gallup survey. 

The new poll, published on Tuesday, found that 26 percent of employed adults surveyed said they were “very” or “moderately” concerned about COVID-19 exposure at their workplace, marking a decrease of 7 percentage points from the 33 percent of respondents who said the same in a similar survey conducted in July. 

Thirty-three percent of female respondents said they are worried about catching COVID-19 at their workplace in the new poll, while 21 percent of male respondents said they are.

Democrats surveyed were more likely to express concern than respondents of other political affiliations, with 38 percent of those identifying as Democrats saying they are worried about COVID-19 exposure at their workplace compared to 26 percent of independents and 9 percent of Republicans.

Smaller differences were found among age groups, with 29 percent of respondents who are 18 to 34 years of age saying they are worried about catching COVID-19 at their workplace, while 26 percent of respondents ages 35 to 55 and 22 percent of those ages 55 or older expressed the same concern.

A higher proportion of white-collar workers than blue-collar workers said they were worried, at 25 percent and 19 percent respectively.

Concern was more common among those employed in the education and health care fields, with 40 percent of respondents who work in education and 34 percent of respondents who work in health care saying they were worried about exposure at their workplace.

The poll comes as COVID-19 cases in the U.S. have dropped since climbing in the summer, though many have expressed concerns about a potential surge in cases during the winter. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 69 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated against the virus. 

The Gallup poll was conducted from Oct. 11 to Oct. 19 with a total of 3,703 adults participating in the survey, including 1,174 employed full or part time. The poll’s margin of error for the group of employed adults is 2 percentage points.