More than a third of the American population believe the COVID-19 pandemic is over, according to new Gallup results.
A total of 34% of U.S. adults — the highest percentage to date — said the pandemic was over in the country, while 66% said it was not, Gallup reported.
Republicans, who were much less likely than Democrats to worry they will get COVID-19, also were much more likely (66% to 10%) than Democrats to say the pandemic was over in the U.S.
A total of 39% of independents also said the pandemic was over.
Americans are more likely now than at any point during the past year and a half to say their lives are completely back to pre-pandemic normalcy.
A total of 21% of respondents said their lives were back to normal, with another 58% saying their lives have somewhat returned to normal, Gallup said.
Another 21% said they are not yet back to where they were before the pandemic began.
Gallup also said half of U.S. adults do not think their lives ever will return to pre-pandemic normalcy, and 74% expect COVID-19-related disruptions to life in the U.S. will persist through the end of the year or longer.
Fewer respondents thought lives will be disrupted for only a few more weeks (11%) or months (16%).
The COVID pandemic is "most certainly not over," the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Sunday, despite a decline in reported cases since the peak of the omicron wave. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told told officials gathered in Geneva that "we lower our guard at our peril."
On Friday, the WHO said the number of coronavirus deaths globally dropped by about 21% in the previous week while cases rose in most parts of the world.
In late April, Dr. Anthony Fauci gave an upbeat assessment of the state of the coronavirus in the U.S., saying the country was "out of the pandemic phase" when it comes to new infections, hospitalizations and deaths, but that it appeared to be making a transition to COVID-19 becoming an endemic disease — occurring regularly in certain areas.
Fauci, President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser, later clarified those comments by saying the COVID-19 pandemic "is not over."
The latest Gallup findings were from the April 25-May 2 update to Gallup's probability-based COVID-19 tracking poll conducted via web panel.