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Unvaccinated Americans are wearing masks less than ever, according to a new Gallup poll.
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Just under 50% of Americans who don’t plan to get vaccinated against COVID report wearing masks.
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The new poll is the first from Gallup since CDC guidelines were updated for vaccinated Americans.
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Americans who don’t plan to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are masking less than ever, a new poll has found.
Just 49% of Americans who said they don’t plan to get vaccinated also said they had worn a mask in the last seven days, according to the latest Gallup poll – the first such poll since the CDC revised masking guidelines for vaccinated Americans.
Those new guidelines stated that people who are vaccinated are able to go maskless in most settings, including indoor gatherings among other maskless people.
Yet the same poll found that most vaccinated Americans are keeping their masks on: 90% of fully vaccinated people said that they had worn a mask in the last seven days.
Notably, the question lacked specificity as to how those vaccinated people were masking.
While some national chains like Walmart, Starbucks, and Best Buy are allowing vaccinated customers to go maskless, many private businesses are still requiring all customers to wear a mask. And hospitals, public transportation, and airlines are all still asking everyone to wear a mask, vaccinated or not.
About 61% of the eligible American population has received at least one dose of the available COVID vaccines, according to the CDC, and President Biden has set a goal to hit 70% by July 4.
The poll results highlight a stark contrast between people who don’t plan to get vaccinated and those who either plan to get vaccinated, are partially vaccinated, or already are fully vaccinated: Less than half of the former group has used a mask in the last seven days, while 80 to 90% of the latter group have.
Since lockdowns were instituted in March 2020, and masking became standard during the global coronavirus pandemic, anti-mask protesters have pushed back – storming a Target last summer, staging rallies around the world, and showing up heavily armed at statehouses.
Masking quickly became a political issue, with far-right politicians like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene most recently comparing mask mandates to the Holocaust.
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