COVID-19 Lockdowns Could Return As Vaccine Becomes Closer to a Reality

COVID-19 Lockdowns Could Return As Vaccine Becomes Closer to a Reality
Recent PRRI data shows that 60% of Americans consider the coronavirus pandemic to be a critical issue facing the U.S. More than eight in ten Democrats (85%) believe it to be a critical issue, compared to just 39% of Republicans. On Monday Pfizer announced that their COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial was currently at a 90% success rate. The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases are spiking across the U.S., and some cities indicate that they could lock down once again.
Equality Act Hangs in the Balance
Recent PRRI data shows that 83% of Americans support LGBT nondiscrimination protections. In The 19th*, Kate Sosin reminds Americans that legislation to guarantee these protections for all Americans is now in flux following Democrats’ failure to take the U.S. Senate. “While the Supreme Court ruled in favor of LGBTQ+ workplace protections in the Bostock v. Clayton County case in June, the Trump administration has shown few signs of enforcing the law,” she writes. Additional data shows that majorities of Democrats (94%), independents (85%), and Republicans (68%) favor nondiscrimination laws that protect LGBTQ people.
Americans Split on Muslim Ban
In The Washington Post, Sarah Pulliam Bailey profiles a Tennessee man who recently cast his first vote as an American citizen. To Yassin Terou, the election was a special one. “It gave him a chance to help end President Trump’s ban on almost all travel from certain Muslim-majority countries. Terou’s brother and father are Syrian refugees living in Turkey, unable to come to America. His father, nearly 70, lives in a wheelchair due to heart conditions and diabetes,” Bailey writes. PRRI data shows that about half (53%) of Americans are opposed to policies that restrict travel from majority Muslim countries, while 45% support such a ban.
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Join PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones for A Conversation on Immigration
PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones will join the National Immigration Forum for a conversation on immigration this coming Monday, November 16. Jones will be joined by Linda Chavez, the chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, and Tim Miler, the writer-at-large at The Bulwark. The virtual event, hosted by the National Immigration Forum, provides everyone an opportunity to join a diverse group as the panelists discuss the future of immigration reform. Register here.