A new poll finds that a majority of people in the U.S. strongly back an expansive government effort to combat COVID-19 and to shore up the nation’s sluggish economy.
The poll, conducted by Politico and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, focused on the American public’s priorities for President-elect Joe Biden and the new Congress.
“They are overwhelmed with wanting to get Covid under control and wanting to get their economic lives back together,” said Robert Blendon, Richard L. Menschel Professor of Public Health and Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis, emeritus, at Harvard Chan School, in a January 8, 2020 Politico article. Blendon designed the poll.
Nearly 90% of respondents expressed strong support for passing aid for businesses and individuals hurt by the pandemic’s economic effects. And more than eight in 10 said they strongly support federal action to expand access to food stamps and to bolster support for testing and vaccination efforts.
Another top priority among both Democrats and Republicans is lowering drug prices, the poll found. Most Americans said they would also like to see major health care legislation, although they differed on how to achieve that goal.
Read the Politico article: POLITICO-Harvard poll: Public strongly backs Biden’s demand for Covid aid