Polls show virus not top priority for voters

The dismal state of the economy beat out the coronavirus pandemic as the top concern of voters surveyed in early exit polls Tuesday, while public health experts warned that the outcome of the election was unlikely to change the trajectory of the difficult weeks and months ahead.

More than a dozen states shattered records for hospitalizations, and a new study showed an unprecedented surge in infections among children.

The omnipresent specter of the coronavirus gave Election Day a distinctly dystopian feel, with voters in goggles and face shields handing ballots to poll workers clad in hazmat suits or sealed behind layers of plexiglass.

But exit polls showed that Americans casting votes Tuesday ranked the state of the economy as a more pressing concern than the pandemic, according to data collected by Edison Research.

About four in 10 voters said they would prioritize the economy over efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Around one-third of voters said they were primarily motivated by the economy — a sentiment particularly widespread among Trump supporters, of whom six in 10 cited the economy as their top priority.

Health officials nationwide tried to capture the attention of a distracted nation Tuesday, warning that the steady increase of infections that began in mid-September isn’t slowing down amid lingering uncertainty over potential vaccines.

Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, urged Americans “to do the right thing” and wear a mask in public to protect themselves and stop the spread of the virus, as Americans head into the winter and flu season.

In a statement, Collins referred to a new study published in the journal Nature Medicine that estimated that if most Americans wear masks, up to 130,000 lives could be saved by March.

But if mask-wearing continues at its current rate of roughly 50 percent and social distancing measures aren’t followed, the study found, the total number of COVID-19 deaths could reach more than 1 million by the end of February.