SHOCK POLL: Seventy percent of Americans believe "we just need to get on with our lives," from COVID-19

A new poll released Monday shows that over two-thirds of Americans are ready to move on from COVID-19.

Seven in ten respondents agreed with the statement, “It’s time we accept that Covid is here to stay and we just need to move on with our lives,” according to research from the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Those who report having caught COVID-19 during the pandemic were more likely to agree at 78%, compared to 65% of those who say they have not been infected. A slight majority of those polled (52%) favored reimplementing mask mandates and social distancing guidelines in their state, indicating some did not see a return themselves returning to the same “normal” as before the pandemic.

Monmouth said the main differentiator in whether one agrees it is time to move on is political party. 89% of Republicans agreed with the sentiment, compared to just 47% of Democrats. Independents are in line with the consensus at 71%.

Notably, only 43% percent said President Joe Biden was doing a good job of handling the virus – the first time he has scored under 50% in Monmouth’s survey. At the same time, approval ratings for state governors handling of the pandemic have increased.

The polling captures increased pessimism about the pandemic. Only one-third of the public believes the country will get the outbreak under control by the end of the year. Tellingly, the number of people who believe a return to normalcy will never happen is up to 28%, up from 22% last September and just 6% one year ago.

“Americans’ worries about Covid haven’t gone away. It seems more to be a realization that we are not going to get this virus under control in a way that we thought was possible just last year,” said Patrick Murray, director of Monmouth University Polling.

The study also indicates that a stable proportion of the public remains opposed to vaccination. 45% of American adults reported getting a booster shot, but 37% said they would likely remain unboosted – including 17% who remain opposed to getting vaccinated at all.

The survey was conducted by phone in late January with 794 adults in the United States. The results have a reported margin of error of +/-  3.5 points.