Five years after the COVID pandemic began, its legacy is as much political as epidemiological, according to a comprehensive new Axios-Ipsos poll, with Americans' views of what happened cleaved by partisanship and media preferences.

The big picture: 39% say they know someone who died. Everybody wants to leave the era behind. Yet two-thirds of Americans don't believe the nation is adequately prepared to deal with another pandemic or widespread health crisis, according to the Axios-Ipsos American Health Index.

• Trust in public health institutions and leaders divided, declined and never fully recovered.
• Today, just 31% of Americans (67% of Republicans, 7% of Democrats, 22% of independents) say they trust President Trump for information about health topics. Trust in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is equally low.
• Dr. Anthony Fauci, the prominent former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who became a political target during the pandemic, today is trusted by nearly three-fourths of Democrats and half of independents but only about 1 in 10 Republicans.
• Since the election, Republicans have driven some uptick of support for federal health agencies and public health measures.

Why it matters: "We definitely see how the politicization of the COVID epidemic is still echoing through society," said Ipsos pollster and senior vice president Chris Jackson.

• The difference primarily is in the attitudes of Republicans, Jackson said of societal shifts reflected in the data. These patterns, he said, may seep over into emerging public health challenges, including a resurgence of measles.
• "You can see the seeds of the same phenomenon we saw in 2020 and 2021," Jackson said. "If these institutions get caught in the political crosshairs, their reputations suffer."

By the numbers: Nearly two-thirds believe shutdowns in early 2020 were necessary to save lives. But 56% say they caused unnecessary damage to the economy. Now consider this:

• Just 24% of those who identified their primary source of media as a conservative outlet, including Fox News, said the shutdowns were necessary, compared with 81% whose primary source of media was broadcast TV news, and 88% whose primary source was national newspapers, CNN or MSNBC.
• 90% of those who gravitated to conservative media said the shutdowns caused unnecessary economic damage, while only 52% of broadcast watchers and 23% of those who turned to national newspapers, CNN or MSNBC agreed.

Majorities of Americans still trust the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (62% overall, 42% Republicans, 86% Democrats) and the National Institutes of Health (57% overall, 40% Republicans, 77% Democrats) — and say the government should keep funding COVID monitoring and prevention measures.

• But more than half (53%) believe public health officials lied to the public about how effective vaccines and masks were at preventing the virus' spread, with Republicans far outnumbering Democrats and independents.

Between the lines: 84% say they believe COVID has changed Americans' lives forever.

• Yet when it comes to their own experience, 7 in 10 said the virus had no lasting impact on their physical or mental health, work/life balance, professional success, ability to pay bills or their family's ability to thrive.
• About one-third said the pandemic experience made them rethink their politics and caused them to get more politically engaged.
• Women, people under 30 and self-described Democrats tended to fare worse in terms of mental health and their finances.

State of play: A minority of Americans who tend to be older and Democratic-leaning stay current on boosters and track the spread not only of COVID but other infectious diseases.

• But for most people, the perception began to shift in the second half of 2022, about a year after the deadly Delta wave, as people began venturing out and returning to their pre-COVID routines.
• Concern about COVID fell about 20 percentage points over 2022 and vaccine uptake began to plummet early in 2023. By the spring of 2023, diners were again packing bars and restaurants, gym memberships were hot again and tours by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé were filling stadiums.
• Now, just 17% of adults report receiving a COVID booster in the last three months, and fewer members of the public see COVID as a threat than the risk of unsafe chemicals or additives in food.
• More than 4 in 10 believe the only people dying from the virus are already sick or unhealthy.

But the COVID experience, and the politicization of science that characterized the past five years, still is influencing opinion.

• Trust in the government is down, and most Americans say it doesn't make the health and well-being of the public a priority.
• About a third of the population thinks getting a COVID booster poses a large or moderate risk to their well-being — about the same on the threat scale as air and water pollution.
• And we're divided on whether health care workers should be required to be vaccinated against COVID, with 47% supporting the idea and 42% opposed.

Roughly the same number think the government should be focused on healthy foods, lifestyles and disease prevention (41%) as on research to develop drugs and treatments for disease (38%).

• But more than 7 in 10 oppose ending vaccine requirements for children to attend public schools. And 55% are against preventing the CDC from showing ads encouraging people to get certain vaccines.

Methodology: This Axios/Ipsos Poll was conducted Feb. 28-March 3, 2025, by Ipsos' KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,066 general population adults age 18 or older.

• The margin of sampling error is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults.

Every Arizona swing voter in our latest Engagious/Sago focus groups said they approve of President Trump's actions since taking office — and most also support Elon Musk's efforts to slash government.

Why it matters: Public opinion can constrain presidents when Congress does not. But these 11 voters — all of whom backed Joe Biden in 2020 but switched to Trump last November — said they're good with Trump aggressively testing disruptive, expansionist expressions of presidential power that are piling up in court challenges.

• It's needed to "get America back on track," one participant said.

What we're watching: One notable area of disagreement with Trump: The idea of the U.S. displacing Palestinians and taking over and redeveloping Gaza. These swing voters want Trump to stick with Americans' needs inside the U.S.

• Some would like to see him do more, sooner, to rein in consumer costs. But several said they don't mind that Trump's early actions haven't primarily focused on inflation — even when that was their top issue in the election — and said they can be patient if prices don't come down for a while.
• Several doubt the warnings that tariffs may translate to long-term price increases for American consumers.
• Several expressed views that "waste, fraud and abuse" are so prevalent that government agencies can be slashed or eliminated without hurting services on which they depend.

How it works: The voters participated in two online focus groups, conducted Feb. 11. They included 11 Arizonans who backed Trump last year, after rejecting Trump for Biden in 2020. Eight were independents, two were Republicans and one was a Democrat.

• While a focus group is not a statistically significant sample like a poll, the responses show how some voters are thinking and talking about current events.

What they're saying: "I agree we need the Constitution and we need rules and procedures," said Courtney L., 34. "But at the same time, how are we going to make big changes? If someone like Trump [is] being unconventional, we need him to be doing these things, to be making these executive orders and making these big changes for big changes to happen."

• "I like how he's cleaning house in the government," said Jonas G., 55.
• "I approve because I believe he's transparent, and we haven't had that for the last four years," said Ann B., 54.
• Other respondents were supportive of Trump's executive orders on immigration and efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Seven of the 11 voters rejected that the president is trying to deliberately "flood the zone" to dilute attention on any one action.

• Trump "has to get started early on as soon as he gets elected into office, get to work," said Melvin G., 30.
• "He said he was going to do this, this, this and this, and this is what he is starting to get done," said Ann B.

Eight of the 11 respondents also said they approve of Musk's efforts in the administration.

• Few had concerns Musk is motivated by personal gain — or that his status as the world's richest man, who controls companies with billions of dollars in government contracts and faces investigations and regulatory hurdles, presents conflicts of interest.

The big picture: The number of executive orders that Trump has issued in his first weeks in office is unprecedented, a strategy that has overwhelmed Democrats trying to mount any semblance of a resistance. But Trump's rapid changes to government have already hit numerous legal roadblocks — and many of these challenges could eventually end up at the Supreme Court.

• Vice President JD Vance and other prominent Republicans this week expressed the sentiment that "judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power."
• This view has raised concerns from Democrats and even some GOP lawmakers that the Trump administration could flout an eventual court ruling.

The Arizona swing voters rejected concerns Trump could subvert the judiciary.

• "That wouldn't happen. I'm not even thinking about it," said Jonas G., when asked about the hypothetical of Trump rejecting a Supreme Court decision.
• Ann B. said it's "fearmongering."

The bottom line: "These swing voters are delighted by Musk's Trump-endorsed government housecleaning," said Rich Thau, president of Engagious, who moderated the focus groups.

• "The prospect of a looming constitutional crisis is completely inconceivable to them."
• Trump, Vance and Musk "should be ecstatic" about the 11 swing voters' feedback "and Democrats should be scared to death."

Go deeper: Tracking Trump's executive actions by category

Optimism for the year ahead has dropped significantly among people of color, LGBTQ+ Americans and many women as President-elect Trump returns to the White House, a new Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll finds.

Why it matters: The disparities between demographic groups in terms of how they're feeling heading into 2025 reflect the fact that while Trump's return fills some Americans with hope, many others are deeply concerned.

The big picture: Two-thirds (68%) of all Americans say they're more concerned about violence by U.S. citizens domestically than in years past. That share climbed slightly among women and LGBTQ+ Americans.

• 59% of all Americans say they're more concerned about the state of U.S. democracy now than in recent years.

By the numbers: 63% of Americans overall said 2025 will be better than 2024. That's barely changed from December 2023, when 66% said they were more optimistic about 2024 than 2023.

• But among Black Americans, optimism dropped from 80% to 61%.
• Optimism among Hispanic Americans fell from 78% to 67%.
• LGBTQ+ Americans' outlook dropped from 76% to 60%. AAPI respondents' optimism slipped from 67% to 60%. Women's optimism dipped from 65% to 58%.
• 68% of U.S. men said they're more optimistic about this year, compared with 67% a year ago. White Americans' optimism barely changed, now 63% compared with 65%.

Zoom in: 63% of LGBTQ+ respondents, 57% of AAPI and Black Americans, and 55% of Latinos say they're concerned about their personal safety.

• 64% of Black Americans and 61% of LQBTQ+ Americans cite concerns about their personal civil rights.
• Gen Z and Millennials also expressed outsized concerns about the safety and civil rights.

What they're saying: "It's clear that there are groups within America for whom the potential policies of the new administration are going to directly impact their lives," said John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll.

Between the lines: During the campaign, Trump used racist language and anti-trans tropes and has promised to roll back some civil rights protections and programs aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion in the federal government.

• Some of his supporters are urging him to reverse an executive order issued by President Lyndon Johnson 60 years ago that targets discrimination by federal contractors.
• Trump said he would slash the Department of Education and vowed to cut funds to schools teaching elements of critical race theory or engaging in certain pro-transgender approaches.

Methodology: The findings in this Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll are based on a nationally representative sample of 2,128 U.S. adults conducted online Jan. 3-5, 2025, among which 1,337 identified were identified as employed.

• The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval.
• For this study, the data for the overall population is accurate to within +/- 2.4 percentage points using a 95% confidence level, and +/- 3.0 percentage points for respondents within the registered voters

Most U.S. adults (9 in 10 Republicans and close to half of Democrats) say they support mass deportations of immigrants living in the country illegally — but that enthusiasm quickly erodes when presented with options over how to carry them out, according to a new Axios-Ipsos poll.

Why it matters: President-elect Trump has vowed to initiate one of the "largest mass deportations in U.S. history" starting early in his return to the White House. Beyond the logistical obstacles, costs and possible pain to the U.S. economy, the survey suggests Americans could quickly sour on deportations depending on how they are carried out.

By the numbers: Two-thirds of all Americans surveyed said they support deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally.

• Among Republicans, support was at 93%, followed by 67% for independents and 43% for Democrats.
• But just 38% of Americans support using active-duty military to find and detain undocumented immigrants in U.S. cities and towns; and only 28% want to use money allocated for the military to pay for deportations.
• Just one in three endorse separating families or sending people to countries other than their country of origin in the interest of speed. And just one in three support deporting those who came to the U.S. as children.
• The trends largely track with findings from a Ipsos-Syracuse University poll from November from which the questions were replicated. But the new survey shows even less support for use of active-duty military, or military funds, than the survey from two months ago.

What they're saying: "There's essentially broad agreement with Trump's position on these topics, but as soon as you start pushing into specifics, a lot of that dissipates," said Chris Jackson, Ipsos pollster and senior vice president.

• The concept of mass deportations may work better for Trump in the abstract than in reality, Jackson said. "Immigration, in reality, is complicated, messy and difficult."
• "The real question is going to be... does that level of support maintain or fragment as they confront the reality of what it means."

The other side: About one in 10 Americans — and close to 1 in 5 Republicans — said they'd support deporting immigrants who are in the country lawfully.

Context: Trump has said he would use the military to round up undocumented immigrants and would consider putting them into camps.

• Trump also has said he would deport American citizens if that means it would keep families together since he wanted to deport their undocumented parents or spouses.
• And he has indicated interest in deporting Haitian immigrants who currently have Temporary Protected Status.

The bottom line: To remove a sizable proportion of the estimated 11 million or more undocumented immigrants from the country, Trump would need not only broad but sustained public support.

Methodology: This Axios/Ipsos Poll was conducted Jan. 10-12, 2025, by Ipsos' KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,025 U.S. adults age 18 or older.

• The margin of sampling error is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample.