Survey: 40% Say Life Will ‘Never’ Return to Pre-Pandemic Normalcy

A sizeable portion of Americans do not believe their lives will completely return to pre-pandemic normalcy, a Gallup survey released Monday found.

The survey, taken June 14-20, among 4,843 American adults, asked respondents if they believe their lives will ever “get completely back to the ‘normal’ that existed before the coronavirus pandemic.”

A plurality of Americans, 46, percent, said they expect it to get back to normal, but 40 percent said it will “never” go back to normal. Fifteen percent said their lives are “already completely back to normal.”

Of the plurality who believes life will return to normal, 53 percent said it will not come until next year, although “47% anticipate normalcy in the next few weeks or months,” according to Gallup:

At the same time, a diminished majority of Americans, 53%, expect the level of disruption occurring to travel, school, work and public events in the U.S. will continue through the end of 2021 or longer than that, marking a nine-point drop since mid-March. Fewer, 47%, now say they expect the degree of disturbance in society to last a few more weeks or months.

Meanwhile, a majority now advise healthy people to “lead their normal lives as much as possible and avoid interruptions to work and business” amid the pandemic, 65 percent to the 35 percent who believe they need to continue to “stay home as much as possible to avoid contracting or spreading the coronavirus.”

Despite the overwhelming desire for healthy people to continue with their lives without interruption, a majority still believe the pandemic in the U.S. is not yet over.

“Although President Joe Biden has acknowledged that his July 4 deadline for reaching 70% vaccination among U.S. adults will not be realized, once it is, Democrats and independents might join Republicans in thinking the pandemic is over, 71 percent to 29 percent,” Gallup concluded.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 179 million Americans have received at least one coronavirus jab, and over 153 million are considered “fully vaccinated,” representing 46.1 percent of the U.S. population.