As the Zika virus continues to have a profound impact on nations in South America and the Caribbean where local transmission is prevalent, a majority of Americans expressed limited personal concern regarding the epidemic in a new poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News.
Here are three key findings from the new poll of more than 1,000 U.S. adults:
1. Concern: Thirty-three percent of individuals polled reported being worried about the possibility of themselves or someone in their immediate family contracting Zika. During the Ebola outbreak in 2014, that number was 43 percent. During the H1N1 pandemic of 2009, 52 percent reported being worried. The poll also found that levels of concern about Zika did not significantly increase in at-risk populations, including women in prime child-bearing years. Sixty-four percent of women ages 18 to 39 reported not being worried about becoming infected.
2. Precautions: Of those polled, 27 percent reported taking precautions like applying bug spray or draining standing water, while 67 percent reported they were "waiting to see if necessary," and 6 percent said they had no opinion. Seventy-three percent of women in prime child-bearing years reported that they were also waiting to see if personal prevention efforts are necessary.
3. Politics: While 73 percent of those polled support allocating nearly $2 billion in federal funding to prevent the spread Zika, 24 percent of the supporters preferred to wait for the Obama administration and Republicans to reach a compromise instead of making the funds immediately available. While 57 percent of Democrats supported immediate funding, that number decreased across party lines with support from 43 percent of Independents and 34 percent of Republicans.
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