Fox News Poll: Voters believe COVID-19 pandemic permanently changed US

While a majority of voters believes the coronavirus pandemic is in check, over half say it has changed us forever. 

The latest Fox News survey finds 57% think the virus has permanently changed how we live in the United States. That’s up from 50% in 2022 and 2021. 

Another 33% feel things have changed temporarily, while 9% think things haven’t really changed at all.

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Currently, 66% say coronavirus is completely or mostly under control. That’s better by 20 points compared to a year ago (46%) and a 46-point improvement since May 2020, when 20% said it was controlled. 

Some 27% feel the virus is only somewhat contained and 7% say not at all.

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Republicans, Hispanic voters, and men are among those most likely to say the virus is completely under control, while those most likely to feel it is only somewhat or not at all controlled include independents, Black voters, those without a college degree, and women.

Majorities of Democrats (60%), Republicans (57%), and independents (53%) agree the country has changed permanently. 

Meanwhile, about twice as many Democrats (41%) as Republicans (20%) remain concerned about the pandemic. 

Overall, 32% worry about the virus. That’s down from 55% a year ago and 72% who were concerned in January 2022. The pandemic comes in at the bottom of 16 voter concerns.

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President Biden declared an end to the national emergency response to coronavirus on May 11.

Handling the pandemic has long been one of his best issues, and that still holds true. More voters approve than disapprove of the job Biden’s doing by a 50-47% margin. He’s helped by 17% approval among Republicans, which is more than double the share who approve on other issues. 

And while Biden’s rating on coronavirus is down from a high of 64-34% in 2021, it’s net positive by 3 points. Otherwise, his job ratings are net negative by wide margins: the economy (-32 points), border security (-30), and foreign policy (-19). 

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Forty-two percent approve of Biden’s overall job performance, while 58% disapprove. His ratings have only been lower once, 40-59% in July 2022. 

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Conducted May 19-22, 2023, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with 1,001 registered voters nationwide randomly selected from a voter file and spoke with live interviewers on landlines and cellphones. The poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for all registered voters.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.