Pew Poll: 7-in-10 Believe Americans Should Wear Masks During Pandemic

More than 70 percent of Americans believe that people should wear a mask “most of the time or always” when they are in public places near others during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a national Pew Research survey released on Thursday.

Another 17 percent of those surveyed said masks should be worn “some of the time,” leaving just 12 percent who said masks should “rarely or never be worn.”

The Pew Research survey, conducted June 16-22 with a margin of error of +/- 1.8 percentage points, also found that “Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are about twice as likely as Republicans and Republican leaners to say that masks should be worn always (63% vs. 29%).”

It also found that “Republicans are much more likely than Democrats to say that masks should rarely or never be worn (23% vs. 4%)” while also being “less likely than Democrats to say they have worn masks in stores or other businesses always or most of the time in the past month.”

So do these non-medical masks we’re all meant to be wearing actually do anything?

Well yes, yes they almost certainly do. Here’s a thread about the current science.

Let’s start by explaining this striking picture of a researcher speaking in a laser scattering chamber.

1/n pic.twitter.com/pm6kA8k0cw

— Jeremy #Masks4All Howard (@jeremyphoward) June 19, 2020

Women and Americans 65 years of age and older are more likely than men and younger Americans, respectively, to say people should always wear masks. The poll found that 53 percent of women believe masks should always be worn compared to 42 percent of men. In addition, 55 percent of those 65 and older believe masks should always ben worn compared to 42 percent in the 18-29 age group.

A majority (55 percent) in the Pew poll believed that Americans would generally approve “if they were to wear a mask in their local area” compared to just 4 percent who believed “that people in their communities would disapprove.”

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As Breitbart News reported, a national Fox News poll last week found that 80 “percent of Americans—including 68 percent of Republicans and 61 percent who ‘strongly approve’ of President Donald Trump’s job performance—have a favorable view of people who wear masks during the coronavirus crisis.” A recent YouGov poll found that 7-in-10 Americans also believe that wearing a mask is a “sign of respectfulness.”

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