Many Americans won’t use virtual options once COVID-19 pandemic is over: poll

Adam Barnes
·2 min read

Story at a glance

  • More than half said they are not likely to continue using telehealth services.

  • American adults polled generally view online services positively and think they should continue after the pandemic.

  • Nearly half said they believe telehealth services, remote work, and online community events are good things.

Americans are ready to return to normal more than two-years into the pandemic and many say they do not plan to attend virtual events when it is over.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and The SCAN Foundation found that 62 percent said it is unlikely they will attend virtual events after the pandemic.

More than half said they are not likely to continue using telehealth services.

Yet, American adults polled generally view online services positively and think they should continue after the pandemic. Nearly half said they believe telehealth services, remote work, and online community events are good things.

“Rather than this either-or, I think we’re more likely to be facing a hybrid future,” Donna Hoffman, director of the Center for the Connected Consumer at the George Washington School of Business, told the Associated Press.

“People have found convenience in some of these virtual options that just makes sense, and they don’t necessarily have anything to do with like keeping you safe or the pandemic even though they came of age during the pandemic,” Hoffman added.

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The poll also found that people are already engaging in activities they enjoyed before the pandemic. Nearly 80 percent expect to go out to a bar in the next few weeks.

Still, more than half of Americans think a COVID-19 vaccination is necessary to return to public life, and less than a quarter said indoor masking is vital.

Almost 70 percent of the total U.S. population is fully vaccinated, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

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