AP-NORC poll shows pandemic fears fading along with omicron

Omicron is fading away, and so are Americans' worries about Covid-19.

As coronavirus pandemic case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths continue to plummet, fewer people now than in January say they are concerned that they will be infected after the rise and fall of the wildly contagious virus variant, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Just 24% say they are "extremely" or "very" worried about themselves or a family member contracting Covid- 19, down from 36% in both December and January, when omicron caused a massive spike in infections and taxed public health systems. Another 34% say they are somewhat worried. More than 140,000 deaths in the U.S. have been attributed to Covid-19 since omicron became the dominant strain of the coronavirus in mid-December.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, trucking dispatcher Erica Martinez said she let down her guard last summer, before the deadly delta variant took hold, then "stopped doing a lot of the social stuff" when cases spiked again during successive waves of delta and omicron. Now, with virus numbers falling rapidly, she said she is more comfortable about socializing than she has been in months.

"I feel like the country is desperately trying to recover from the last two years," said Martinez, 36. "I think there will always be new variants popping up, left and right. I think, sadly, this is going to be the new norm for society," with people taking fewer or more precautions as cases ebb and flow.

That's a widespread attitude; most Americans think the virus will stick around as a mild illness, according to a January AP-NORC poll. Just 15% think Covid-19 will largely be eliminated when the pandemic is over.

Signs the nation is ready to move on from the biggest Covid19 wave to date are everywhere. Statewide mask mandates have all but disappeared, and on Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it's no longer recommending indoor masking for most Americans, based on current data.

Cities are lifting vaccine requirements to enter bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. Companies are bringing workers back to the office.

California said it's taking an "endemic" approach to the virus that leans on prevention and swift containment of outbreaks.

"I think it's reasonable and appropriate for people to live their lives a little more as the risk of infection goes down but to do it in a way that recognizes that, at some point, we're going to have another wave," said Dr. David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "And we're going to need to be willing to buckle down just a little bit in the future."

Worries about infection have dipped among both vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans. Still, roughly two- thirds of vaccinated Americans say they are at least somewhat worried about Covid-19 infection. About 4 in 10 unvaccinated Americans say the same.

Amie Adkins, of Gassaway, West Virginia, who is unvaccinated, said she was "surrounded" by omicron but never worried about getting it, counting on a mask and good hygiene to protect herself. Data shows unvaccinated people are at much higher risk for serious illness and death than people who got the shot.