Americans still afraid to go to live sporting events — even if 'literally everyone' has been vaccinated or tested negative for the virus: poll

The American populace has been told for the last 13 months that they must be scared to do every conceivable activity that takes place outside their homes.

People are taking their lives into their own hands — as autonomous, free people tend to do — should they venture outdoors, especially if there are other humans around, the media and government have implied. All because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Americans have been so conditioned to fear socializing that even the notion of being fully vaccinated is not bringing them comfort. Which is not surprising considering repeated warnings from medical experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci that vaccinated people need to continue to social distance and wear masks.

A new poll from the Washington Post showed just how ingrained that feeling of fear has become: Most Americans are still afraid to attend a sporting event. Even if every single attendee has been vaccinated, a large share are still too scared to attend.

Overall, the survey revealed, only 42% of Americans feel comfortable attending a ticketed event.

What if the event is held outdoors, like a baseball game? Well, only two-thirds (66%) feel OK about attending. That number drops to 32% if the event is held indoors.

So, what if the stadium capacity is limited? Just 50% of people are comfortable in stadiums that are at 50% capacity. If the capacity is limited to 20%, then 69% are OK with attending.

The most revealing part of the survey was that Americans apparently trust masks about as much as they do the vaccine. And they put more faith in those masks than they do negative test results.

When asked if they would be comfortable attending a sporting event if masks were required, 64% of respondents said yes.

But when asked about whether they would attend a game if "all attendees received the vaccine," only 69% of Americans were cool with that idea.

HotAir's Allahpundit saw this poll and tweeted, "only 69% would feel comfortable attending a sporting event where *literally everyone* has been vaccinated?"

And what if all attendees test negative for the virus? That's good enough for only 56% of Americans, the poll said.

Scott Clement on Twittertwitter.com

The Post also reported that 64% of America's say attending a sporting event is a "large risk" (27%) or a "moderate risk" (37%) to their health and well-being.

Broken down by party, the poll found that Republicans (59%) are far more likely than Democrats (29%) to be comfortable with attending a live sporting event.

And regionally, people in the Midwest (47%), South (42%), and West (42%) are significantly more likely to feel comfortable at those events than people in the Northeast (34%).

Scott Clement on Twittertwitter.com