The number of Americans who think it will return to normal in the next six months or so is rising, according to new survey results released Tuesday by Axios-Ipsos. Now, 40% of respondents believe this is the case, compared to 26% at the end of January.
And the number of people who believe it will take a year or more to return to normal is shrinking, now 17% compared to 30% at the end of January. The survey, which was conducted March 5-8, was based on a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Americans over the age of 18.
In the survey, 20% say they do not know when they will return to pre-coronavirus activity levels for face-to-face meetings away from home or for dinner at a restaurant. The rest have a combination of answers: 30% say they have already attended face-to-face meetings, 29% say they will once vaccinated themselves or everyone in their circle, 21% say they will when officials say which is safe and 20% I don’t know.
With 25% of respondents reporting receiving the vaccine, the vast majority of respondents say they will continue public health measures even after being vaccinated, with 81% saying they would continue to wear a mask, 66% following the social distance and 87% will continue to wash their hands frequently or sanitize them.
As these figures change, so does the number of Americans who stay home and avoid contact with others and engage in social interactions away from home.
The number of Americans who say they avoid contact, 13%, is the lowest since October, down six points from the previous month. The number of Americans who visited family or friends last week (44%) has increased seven points from last month.
The survey also examined the personal benefits experienced since the start of the pandemic. It was found that 36% said spending more time at home was the greatest personal benefit experienced, 33% said spending less / saving more was the greatest personal benefit and a quarter noted that spending more time with the family.
There was also “some cautious optimism” around finances, with fewer people saying their ability to pay rent or mortgage had worsened and fewer people saying they had been temporarily withdrawn or suspended from work.
Finally, the survey examined how the pandemic has affected dreams. It was found that 1 in 3 Americans reported strange or vivid dreams over the past month, a quarter had stressful or terrifying dreams, and less than one in 10 had coronavirus-specific dreams.