"Biden's Top Priority Is COVID Over Economy"... US Poll Results

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] A majority of Americans responded that the top priority for President-elect Joe Biden to address after taking office is the response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), indicating that they perceive the COVID-19 issue as more serious than economic problems. This is analyzed to be due to concerns that lockdown measures similar to those in April may be reinstated as the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. increased by 4 million this month alone, pushing the cumulative confirmed cases beyond 13 million.

According to CNN on the 29th (local time), a poll conducted by Monmouth University from the 12th to the 16th among 810 voters in the U.S. showed that 42% of respondents answered that the most urgent issue for President-elect Biden to solve first is the COVID-19 problem. Other priorities included economic issues (36%), national unity (20%), and racial discrimination issues (15%). CNN reported that Americans view the COVID-19 issue as more serious than the economic crisis.

Earlier, a Gallup poll also showed that Americans' concern about COVID-19 is intensifying. In a random telephone survey conducted by Gallup from October 19 to early this month with about 100,000 Americans, 58% of respondents said they were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, while 42% said they would not. This reverses the results from a survey conducted from July 20 to 26, when the second wave was in full swing, where 66% said they would not get vaccinated and 34% said they would.

This is presumed to be a result of the worsening spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. According to the COVID-19 tally by Johns Hopkins University on the same day, the cumulative confirmed cases in the U.S. reached 13,373,673, with cumulative deaths at 266,831. In the U.S., confirmed COVID-19 cases surged by more than 4 million this month alone, and there are concerns that the spread will increase further in three weeks following Thanksgiving, the Christmas holidays, and the year-end and New Year holidays.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.