More Americans See Coronavirus as a Greater Threat to the Economy Than Their Health

Like so many issues in America today, beliefs about COVID-19 appear to divide along partisan lines. But a new Pew Research poll shows both sides agree the virus is posing a serious threat to the US economy.

The survey showed overall, 86% of Americans – including 88% of Democrats and 84% of Republicans – now view the coronavirus outbreak as a major threat to the US economy. 

Still, Democrats are more likely than Republicans see the coronavirus as a major public health threat.  

The survey found more than eight-in-ten Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party (85%) say the coronavirus is a major threat to the health of the US population. Republicans and Republican leaners see the disease as less of a threat: About as many Republicans say the coronavirus is a major threat to public health (46%) as say it is a minor threat (45%).  

STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FREE CBN NEWS APP 
Click Here Get the App with Special Alerts on Breaking News and Top Stories

When it comes to the virus's personal threat to individuals, 40% of Americans overall say the coronavirus presents a major threat to their personal health; another 46% call it a minor threat. In economic terms, 38% say it's a major threat to their personal financial situation, while 43% see it as a minor threat.

Majorities of Black and Hispanic adults (57% each) view the coronavirus as a major threat to their own personal health. By contrast, 46% of English-speaking Asian Americans, and just 33% of white adults say this. The survey found similar differences by race and ethnicity in concern over the outbreak's impact on personal finances.

Of course, both political parties claim to base their beliefs on science.  However, Democrats remain much more likely than Republicans to view the coronavirus as a major threat to their personal health, even when they live in counties that have experienced high, medium or low impacts from the outbreak. And the survey showed Democrats living in low-impact counties are 14 percentage points more likely than Republicans living in high-impact counties to say the coronavirus is a major threat to their own personal health (46% vs. 32%).

Questioning What We've Been Told About Coronavirus

These numbers come as many Americans are questioning what they are being told about the virus by health experts. One reason for the growth in skepticism, perhaps, is the sometimes contradictory messages sent out by health officials. Early on, for example, Dr. Fauci of the Centers For Disease Control, told everyone that masks were not helpful in fighting the coronavirus, then later admitted he misled the public in order to prevent a run on masks that would deprive health workers of the protection they needed.  Now he appears all-in for everyone wearing masks.

Then there are questions about the reliability of tests for the virus.  In some states, like Florida, it was found labs reporting positives for the virus were off by at least a factor of 10.  

Also, anecdotes are flying about people who didn't actually get tested receiving notices that they tested positive for the virus - so much so that it's prompted Florida Governor DeSantis to look into the claims. "For that to come back positive, when there was no specimen submitted, is problematic," DeSantis told WTFS-TV in Tampa. "So I've heard it enough to be concerned about it." 

There's also the question of how COVID deaths are counted: did a person die with COVID-19 or because of COVID-19? The lack of consistency nationwide in how deaths are counted opens up more questions about what is actually happening.

All this makes formulating a policy that protects the health of the country more problematic. The recurring debate is should we open up our country more, or encourage people to stay in lockdown.

Medical Experts Warn of Negative Effects of Lockdowns

Medical experts are warning about the negative effects of keeping people in lockdown. CBN News reported earlier that a growing number of doctors believe lockdowns and shutdowns are doing more harm than the coronavirus itself. More than 1,200 have banded together in the group A Doctor A Day, and at SecondOpinionProject.com, presenting their case for why the lockdowns have been a medical disaster.

"We're looking at an increase in tens or hundreds of thousands of just suicides alone from the increased unemployment," explained Dr. Paul Fronapfel, a pediatric anesthesiologist.  

Addiction specialist Dr. Molly Rutherford added, "The morbidity and mortality from joblessness and from mental health crises and relapse and suicides, homicides, shootings – all these things – are just going to continue to get worse."

The doctors in the Second Opinion Project believe the coronavirus has been overhyped.

"The message has been disseminated that this is some terrible infection that's a killer; that everybody is at risk of dying," said cardiologist Dr. Daniel Wohlgelernter. But he pointed out, "We know that 99.7 percent of people that get infected with COVID survive."

Fronapfel added, "Ten times as many people die from other things on any given day."

Dr. Mark McDonald, an adolescent and adult psychiatrist, brought up children, saying, "The risk of death to children from flu, seasonal flu, is 20 to 30 times higher than that of the coronavirus. And yet we have never closed schools. We have never asked children or teachers to wear masks, to play separately, to eat separately, to arrive and leave separately from schools because of the flu. And now we're doing that for the coronavirus."

Unfortunately, important considerations like these - as the Pew Survey shows - are increasingly viewed through the partisan prism, which makes it harder to unify around a clear analysis and response to the threat.

We encourage readers who wish to comment on our material to do so through our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram accounts. God bless you and keep you in His truth.