A new survey published this week shows a majority of Americans claim to have contracted COVID-19 since the pandemic began in the Spring of 2020.
The poll from Monmouth University finds 52% of the public say they have been infected by the virus at least once over the last two years.
That figure is up from 40% just two months ago. Scientists blame the infectious Omicron variant and new sub-variant for the rise in cases across the country.
“We asked the same question about accepting Covid is here to stay two months ago and got a similarly high number who want to get on with life,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. "Our working hypothesis was that many people who support mandates simply wanted consistency in the guidelines. This new data suggests that is not necessarily the case. For some Americans, getting on with life means constantly being on guard and ready to reinstitute restrictions as new situations emerge."
The seven-day average of new COVID infections in the U.S. remains constant at roughly 30,000 infections, down from 800,000 in January.
Read the full survey here.
