If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

LIFESTYLE

Conservative News Viewers More Accurately Estimate COVID-19 Death Risk

Viewers of conservative cable news channels have a better understanding of the risk of death from COVID-19 than do viewers of liberal channels. Conservative media viewers are also more likely to think officials aren’t being honest about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the COVID-19 case-mortality rate – the percentage of diagnosed patients who have died from the disease – is 1.6% in the United States. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 30% of American Adults correctly estimate the rate as being less than 2%, while 20% believe the rate to be between 2% and 5%. Seventeen percent (17%) estimate the mortality rate to be in the 5%-10% range and 19% believe the rate is more than 10%. Another 14% say they’re not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

More viewers of Newsmax (40%) and Fox News (34%) correctly estimated the COVID-19 mortality rate than viewers of CNN (22%) or MSNBC (24%). Twenty-one percent (21%) of One America News (OAN) viewers correctly estimated the coronavirus mortality rate. Among Americans who say they don’t watch cable news at all, 38% correctly estimated the mortality rate as less than 2%.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of American Adults believe public health officials are lying about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. That’s up from 32% in early July. Forty-four percent (44%) now don’t believe officials are lying about vaccine safety, but 19% are not sure.

The highest levels of distrust are among those who say they most often watch conservative channels. Sixty-two percent (62%) of Newsmax viewers think public health officials are lying about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, as do 60% of OAN viewers and 49% of Fox News viewers. Only 26% of CNN viewers and 25% of MSNBC viewers believe officials are lying about vaccine safety.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. American Adults was conducted on August 26 and 29, 2021 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Nearly half of Democrats say the cable news channel they most often watch is either CNN (24%) or MSNBC (23%). Among Republicans, the preferred choices are either Fox News (37%) or Newsmax (14%). The top cable news channels for those not affiliated with either major party are Fox (18%) and CNN (12%).

Perhaps because of different choices in news media consumption, Democrats are significantly more likely than other Americans to overestimate the death risk from COVID-19. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Democrats think more than 10% of people diagnosed with COVID-19 have died from the disease – more than five times the actual mortality rate. Just 14% of Republicans and the unaffiliated believe the COVID-19 mortality rate is over 10%.

Republicans (53%) are more likely than Democrats (26%) or the unaffiliated (35%) to believe public health officials are lying about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

Women are significantly more likely than men to overestimate the mortality rate from COVID-19.

Thirty-six percent (36%) of whites, 32% of Blacks and 41% of other minorities believe public health officials are lying about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. Whites are more likely to correctly estimate the COVID-19 mortality rate as less than 2%.

Americans who correctly estimate the COVID-19 mortality rate are more likely to believe public health officials are lying about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

Less than half of Americans now have a favorable opinion of Dr. Anthony Fauci, although most still want to follow the COVID-19 expert’s advice on dealing with the pandemic.

Politics divides the nation over plans to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination, with Democrats strongly favoring the idea while most other Americans are against it.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. American Adults was conducted on August 26 and 29, 2021 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.

To learn more about our methodology, click here.