Less than 10 percent cite coronavirus as top problem in US: poll

According to a new Gallup poll released on Wednesday, less than 10 percent of Americans now consider the COVID-19 pandemic the country’s top concern.

The new survey found that 8 percent of people mentioned the coronavirus when asked about the most important U.S. problems. This is nearly half the 15 percent of people who said the same in May.

In another show of optimism among participants, Gallup’s economic confidence poll saw a slight recovery, going up after having dipped in May. U.S. satisfaction remained relatively the same, falling by 1 percentage point from 36 percent to 35 percent.

An increasing percentage of people cited “government” as the most important problem in the U.S., with 22 percent saying so in June, an increase of 6 percentage points from when the survey was conducted a month prior. Race relations, immigration and the economy were also cited as important problems, though they did not see a significant increase in the percentage of people who cited them.

“As more Americans receive COVID-19 vaccinations and most restrictions are lifted nationwide, they are less likely to cite the pandemic as the nation’s most pressing concern. While the public is feeling more positive about the coronavirus situation, their view of government has worsened,” Gallup stated.

Gallup noted that President Biden’s approval ratings have remained relatively stable, coming in at 56 percent for June. In contrast, the approval ratings for Congress continued to drop to 26 percent, marking the lowest rating recorded since January.

Gallup’s U.S. problems poll was conducted June 1-18 and had a random sample of 1,012 adults. The results have a margin of error of 4 percentage points with a 95 percent confidence level.