78pc Americans blame government for Covid-19 crisis: poll

A poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy found 78 per cent of Americans believe that US government policies caused the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis in the country, including 56 per cent who think those policies mattered "a great deal."

Americans are also more likely to say the United States should have a major role in developing a coronavirus vaccine than to say the same about the World Health Organization (WHO), countries in the European Union and China, with the rate being 78 per cent, 57 per cent, 55 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively.

Only 57 per cent of Americans intend to get a vaccine when it is available, and the figure declines to 46 per cent if the vaccine were to be developed outside the United States, reports Xinhua.

The poll shows a stark partisan split on who is to blame for Covid-19 situation in the United States, as well as on the development and distribution of a vaccine, with 55 per cent of Republicans faulting the WHO for the coronavirus situation in the United States, compared with just 28 per cent of independents and 27 per cent of Democrats.

Only 39 per cent of Republicans want the WHO to play a major role in vaccine development, compared with 59 per cent of independents and 75 per cent of Democrats.

The poll found that 58 per cent of Americans, including 79 per cent of Republicans, say the United States should keep any vaccine for itself, even if that means fewer around the world get vaccinated.

Only 39 per cent of Americans say the vaccine should be made immediately available to other countries.

Meanwhile, Republicans are less likely than Democrats to say they will get a vaccine, regardless of whether it is developed in the United States, with the ratio being 42 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively.

The nationwide poll, conducted with 1,053 adults by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research during Sept. 11-14, 2020, was released on the eve of the 2020 Pearson Global Forum, an Oct. 6-8 virtual event hosted by Harris Public Policy that brought together researchers and policymakers to develop strategies to prevent and resolve international conflicts.