Report: Most Americans Agree that COVID-19 Vaccines Slowed Transmission, but Many Remain Skeptical

The January 2023 Daily Kos/Civiqs Poll asked 1,334 registered voters in the United States about COVID-19, the job of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents, the 2024 presidential election, and more.

COVID-19 and Dr. Anthony Fauci

A majority of Americans (51%) believe that coronavirus vaccines have worked to slow the spread of COVID-19. This includes 90% of Democrats and 42% of Independents -- but only 14% of Republicans. Just 12% of frequent Fox News viewers think that the vaccine slowed COVID-19 transmission, compared to 90% of frequent MSNBC viewers. Americans who live in urban areas (62%) are much more likely to believe in the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines than those who live in rural areas (41%).

Many voters remain critical of the response by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former chief medical advisor to President Biden, to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a significant number believe that Dr. Fauci misled Congress about the origins of the pandemic. When asked if they agree with a claim that Dr. Fauci unnecessarily harmed American schools and businesses by overhyping the threat of COVID-19, 46% of Americans agree with this statement, while 48% do not. This view is especially prevalent among Republicans (87%), although many Independents (51%) share this opinion.

Presented with a claim that Dr. Fauci lied to Congress about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, 45% of voters agree, while 43% of voters believe Dr. Fauci did not lie. There are significant partisan differences on this question: while 87% of Republicans believe that Dr. Fauci lied to Congress about the origins of COVID-19, fully 81% of Democrats believe that Dr. Fauci did not lie. More than half (52%) of Independents believe that Dr. Fauci lied to Congress.

Handling of Classified Documents

While former President Trump and President Biden have both been found to have mishandled classified documents in recent years, more Americans (46%) believe that Trump’s handling of classified materials was worse than Biden’s, versus 34% who believe Biden’s handling was worse. Another 15% say that Trump’s and Biden’s handling of classified documents was the same.

A majority of voters (55%) care about how both Biden and Trump have handled classified documents, including 56% of Democrats, 51% of Republicans, and 58% of Independents. However, a third (31%) of Democrats only care about Trump’s actions, and a third (32%) of Republicans only care about Biden’s actions.

The Biden Administration

President Biden’s job approval rating remains around 40% in Civiqs daily tracking. Many voters feel distrustful towards his administration. There are 44% of Americans who think that under President Biden, the Justice Department has been unfairly targeting conservative protesters, families, and small businesses. Another 45% of Americans agree with the claim that U.S. funds being sent to Ukraine are corrupt and should be audited. Half (51%) of Americans -- including 95% of Republicans -- think that Congress should investigate Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Despite clear communication from the Biden administration that they have no plans to ban the sale of gas stoves, 34% of Americans, including 62% of Republicans and 78% of frequent Fox News viewers, believe that the administration does want to implement such a ban. About 4 in 10 voters (44%) believe that the Biden administration does not intend to ban the sale of gas stoves.

The 2024 Presidential Election

Americans want new candidates for the 2024 presidential election. Large majorities do not want former President Trump or President Biden to run again. By a substantial 59% to 27% margin, Americans say that they do not want Trump to run for president in 2024. But 62% do not want Biden to run for president in 2024 either, with just 22% who support Biden running again.

Daily Kos/Civiqs previously polled this question in January 2022 and July 2022. Over the past year, support for Trump running for president in 2024 has remained low: 30% in January 2022, 32% in July 2022, and 27% now. Support for Biden to run again was 28% in January 2022, 21% in July 2022, and 22% now.

Only 38% of Democrats and 13% of Independent voters want Biden to run for president again in 2024. Former President Trump retains the support of a majority (51%) of Republicans for a 2024 run. However, this number is down significantly from the 63% of Republicans in July 2022 who wanted Trump to run again.

Civiqs surveyed 1,334 registered voters in the United States from January 28-31, 2023. The survey was conducted online, among selected members of the Civiqs research panel. Sampled individuals were emailed by Civiqs and responded using a personalized link to the survey at civiqs.com. The survey results are weighted by age, race, gender, education, party identification, and region to be representative of the population of registered voters in the United States. The general design effect due to weighting is 1.10. The survey has a margin of error of ± 2.8% at the 95% confidence level, accounting for the design effect.