Poll: Majority of Fully Vaccinated Are Still Wearing Masks

The majority of those who are considered “fully vaccinated” are still wearing masks the bulk of the time when outside their homes, a Yahoo! News/YouGov survey released this week found.

As the Biden Administration and public health officials continue to push for mass vaccinations, originally pitching them as the way to return to pre-pandemic life, a majority of people, including a majority of the vaccinated, are still wearing masks “always” or “most of the time” when outside their home.

Overall, 56 percent say they do so always or most of the time. Democrats are more likely to say they wear a mask outside their home (78 percent), compared to 55 percent of independents and 35 percent of Republicans. 

However, the survey found that fully vaccinated Americans are wearing masks at a higher rate than individuals who are not fully vaccinated. Sixty-five percent of fully vaccinated individuals say they wear a mask outside the home always or most of the time. Only 43 percent of those who are not fully vaccinated say the same. The majority of those, 57 percent, say they never wear a mask or only do so “some of the time.” 

That seems to coincide with the fact that the majority of Americans are worried about the effectiveness of vaccines over time, as 52 percent, overall, are “worried,” including 17 percent who are “very” worried. Just over one-third are “not worried.”  A majority of the fully vaccinated, 57 percent, say they are worried about declining effectiveness as time goes on.

The survey comes as some states, such as Illinois, reimplement mask mandates amid a surge of cases, despite the widespread availability of the vaccines and booster shots for certain demographics. 

Notably, Florida, which has never had a statewide mask mandate in place, is tied for having the lowest daily average of coronavirus cases per capita in the United States. 

The survey, taken October 19-21, 2021, among 1,704 U.S. adults, has a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percent.