As a fourth wave of the coronavirus surges, Americans by a wide margin say protecting the common good is more important than ensuring personal liberty when considering whether to require individuals to get a COVID-19 vaccination or wear a protective mask. An overwhelming 72%-28% of those surveyed and Ipsos called mask mandates "a matter of health and safety," not an infringement on personal liberty. By 61%-39%, they endorsed requiring vaccinations except for those with a medical or religious exemption.
"I think everybody should be able to make their own decision as long as they're not hurting someone else," said Donna Sharp, 54, of Wynne, Arkansas, a caregiver who was among those called in the poll. "But in the case of this, with the vaccine, in a way you are hurting other people if you don't get it and you spread it." That view isn't universal, though. Nearly 1 in 5 said they hadn't gotten a COVID-19 shot yet and don't plan to anytime soon – underscoring the complicated terrain ahead as the number of cases diagnosed and deaths recorded rise, especially in communities with low vaccination rates.
"I think the mandates and requirements are against our rights as being U.S. citizens," said Carlie Wright, 30, the stay-at-home mother of two sons from Logan, Utah, who has declined to get a vaccine or wear a mask. "We shouldn't have government to control our lives and tell us what they can and can't do." By more than 2-1, 70%-30%, Americans agreed that individuals have the right to choose not to get the vaccine, but that they then didn't have the right to be around the vaccinated. There was significant support for businesses, employers, colleges, restaurants, airlines and others to bar those who hadn't gotten the shot.
Majority of NSW’s 830 new Covid-19 cases within 12 hot spot areas
