Within this survey, concern is more widespread among Hispanic and African-American adults than White Americans. Similarly, a third of lower-income Americans say they are very concerned with contracting coronavirus, while only 17% of upper-income adults expressed high concern.
Among the general American public, 55% of adults said they are very or or somewhat concerned they will contract coronavirus and require hospitalization. Much greater numbers of Hispanic (43%) and African-American (31%) expressed more concern than White Americans (28%).
Stark racial disparities also exist in personal experiences with the coronavirus, as 27% of African-Americans say they personally are acquainted with someone who has been hospitalized or died from the coronavirus, compared to 13% of White and Hispanic-Americans
On the issue of ventilators, the survey found that 50% of the American public say the priority for critical care should be given “to patients who are most at need in the moment,” while 45% of Americans believe that “patients who are most likely to recover with treatment” should have priority in terms of treatment.
Brokendown by age, 58% of adults under age 30 believe that priority for critical care should be patients with the best chance of recovery. Those between the ages of 30 to 49 are divided on the topic, while a clear majority (57%) of those 50 and older believe that priority should be for patients most in need at the moment.
The Pew survey was conducted on April 7 to 12, with 4,917 US adults participants and a sampling error of plus or minus 2.1.