Virus fears spike, but workers split on vaccine mandates, poll finds

WASHINGTON — The delta variant’s two-month surge has generated a sharp rise in public fears about contracting the coronavirus, undermined confidence in President Joe Biden’s leadership and renewed divisions over vaccine and mask mandates, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Nearly half of Americans, 47 percent, rate their risk of getting sick from the coronavirus as moderate or high, up 18 percentage points from late June. This follows a more than tenfold increase in daily infections. Concerns over catching the virus among partially or fully vaccinated adults have risen from 32 percent to 52 percent, while concern among unvaccinated adults has grown from 22 percent to 35 percent over the same period. Those shifts parallel a rebound in vaccinations, with the share of adults with at least one coronavirus shot rising from 67 percent in early July to 75 percent as of Saturday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The poll finds younger Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have become more willing to get vaccinated since this spring, a significant shift for one of the country’s most vaccine-hesitant groups.

The increasing number of employer mandates may boost vaccination further, but the poll also shows potential for blowback. Among unvaccinated workers who are not self-employed, about 7 in 10 say they would likely quit if their employer required them to be vaccinated and did not grant a medical or religious exemption.