Last Thursday, monkeypox was officially declared a public health emergency in the U.S. As case numbers rise, how are Americans responding to the spread of yet another virus?
Concern about monkeypox has increased notably since May, with the majority of U.S. adults now feeling at least ‘somewhat concerned’. Nearly all Americans have now heard of the virus (97%) compared to back in May (91%).
Those planning to attend college in person this fall are more likely to be ‘very concerned’ about the spread of monkeypox (25%), which is more than twice as likely as adults with K-12 children who will be attending school in person this fall (11%).
With cases concentrated in more populated regions, it’s unsurprising that one-fifth (21%) of adults living in urban areas are the most likely to be ‘very concerned’ about the virus spreading. And as a high number of current monkeypox cases are recorded throughout new york state, it’s no surprise that residents of the Northeast are the most concerned overall about the spread (60%).
How does the Gen Pop plan to respond to the newest public health emergency? CivicScience polled more than 3,000 U.S. adults to find the answers (n=3,037). Currently, over one-third (36%) of Americans are likely to receive the monkeypox vaccine when it becomes available. However, a larger percentage of Americans is currently uninterested in receiving the vaccine (45%) while just 16% of adults are unsure how they’ll proceed.
And when broken down by age, those youngest (18-24) are the most likely to already have received the monkeypox vaccine and the most likely to get vaccinated as it becomes available (47%).
City dwellers, who express higher levels of concern over monkeypox, are the most likely to get vaccinated (39%), or to already have been vaccinated (5%).
As the spread of monkeypox evolves, CivicScience will continue to measure Americans’ responses.
