Even with the recent uptick in terrorist activity and the US political process dominating the national air waves, the Olympics — which start next week — remain a hot topic due to the revelation that Russia has been running a state-sanctioned doping program. Moreover, Zika, a virus that can cause severe birth defects, is keeping several top athletes home. To this latter point, the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control aren’t concerned that the Olympics in Rio will pose a big risk for spreading the virus. That said, we at VeraQuest asked 3,000 Americans how aware and concerned they are about the Zika virus and whether they plan to alter certain behaviors this summer to try to limit their own exposure.
While the awareness level of Zika is high at 90%, that figure is somewhat misleading because a full-third of Americans (33%) either haven’t heard of Zika or don’t know anything about it, leaving 67% of Americans Somewhat or Very Familiar with the disease. That figure is considerably lower than those who are Somewhat or Very Familiar with Ebola (76%) and slightly below Swine Flu and the West Nile Virus, both which registered 70% for the same measure (Somewhat/Very Familiar).
Just 29% of Americans indicate they are Very Concerned about Zika (however, another 45% are Somewhat Concerned). That said, the greater the level of familiarity with Zika, the greater the level of concern: 22% of people who say they are only Somewhat Familiar with Zika are Very Concerned, while more than double that number (43%) who say they are Very Familiar with Zika are Very Concerned.
About two-thirds (65%) of those who are Somewhat or Very Familiar with Zika plan to be more vigilant about using insect spray when going outside this summer; however, that number climbs to 84% when we look at just those respondents who are Very Concerned. The following infographic shows how people plan to change their behaviors because of Zika:
We also asked respondents their thoughts on whether the Olympics should be postponed/moved. Given the amount of money and planning that goes into preparing for the Olympics we were somewhat surprised to see that more than three-fifths of Americans (61%) thought the Summer Olympics should, in fact, be either postponed or moved. We wonder if they would have felt the same way if the Olympics were being held in the US.
How worried are you about the Zika virus? Do you think the Olympics should have been moved or delayed? What behaviors will you be likely to change?
Leave a Reply