Poll: Vast Majority Unfazed By Omicron, Oppose Mandates 

69 percent ‘say no new mandates or restrictions are required’

Karl Salzmann • December 15, 2021 12:00 pm

A vast majority of Americans oppose mandates or restrictions for the Omicron variant, a poll found Wednesday.

The poll, which was conducted by Convention of States Action and the Trafalgar Group, found that 69 percent of Americans “say no new mandates or restrictions are required for the Omicron variant of COVID-19.” That number includes 67 percent of independents, 86 percent of Republicans, and 54 percent of Democrats.

Of those surveyed, 38 percent oppose new mandates or restrictions “regardless of [the] risk from Omicron,” while 31 percent say “Omicron is not a serious health risk.” Only 30 percent say Omicron is a serious risk that warrants additional mandates and restrictions.

Politicians have already begun imposing restrictions over the Omicron variant. The Biden administration in November issued travel bans for eight African nations and mandated that even vaccinated foreign travelers have to test negative. The governors of California and New York, meanwhile, reinstated indoor mask mandates amid Omicron fears and increasing case numbers.

This poll is not the first to find that Americans widely oppose COVID-19 mandates. Convention of States Action and the Trafalgar Group found in September that nearly 59 percent of voters oppose President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate on private businesses. And 65 percent say their fellow Americans should not lose their jobs for refusing the vaccine.