Worry of Filipinos about COVID-19 always greater than that of Americans: survey

Filipinos have always been more worried than Americans about catching Covid-19.

The Gallup August 16-22, 2021 survey found 40% of adult Americans worrying (7% very worried, 33% somewhat worried) they will get the coronavirus. This was the highest since the 49% in February 2021.

Nevertheless, when it comes to catching Covid-19, the proportion of worried Americans was always lower than worried Filipinos.

Meanwhile, the percentage of those fearing “the worst is yet to come” with the Covid-19 crisis is highest in Balance Luzon (65%), followed by the Visayas (62%), Metro Manila (61%), and Mindanao (49%).

Compared to June 2021, those fearing “the worst is yet to come” rose from 36% in Balance Luzon, 45% in the Visayas, 30% in Metro Manila, and 46% in Mindanao.

On the other hand, those saying “the worst is behind us” are highest in Mindanao (49%), followed by Metro Manila (37%), the Visayas (36%), and Balance Luzon (34%).

Compared to June 2021, those saying “the worst is behind us” fell from 53% in Mindanao, 69% in Metro Manila, 53% in the Visayas, and 62% in Balance Luzon.

Those saying “the worst is yet to come” are highest among college graduates (62%), followed by junior high school graduates (61%), elementary graduates (60%), and non-elementary graduates (56%).

Worry of Filipinos about COVID-19 always greater than that of Americans: survey

Compared to June 2021, those saying “the worst is yet to come” rose from 34% among college graduates, 41% among junior high school graduates, 40% among elementary graduates, and 36% among non-elementary graduates.

On the other hand, those saying “the worst is behind us” fell from 64% to 35% among college graduates, from 57% to 38% among junior high school graduates, from 59% to 39% among elementary graduates, and from 64% to 42% among non-elementary graduates.

SWS alsi found 91% of adult Filipinos worried (76% a great deal worried, 15% somewhat worried) and 9% a little/not worried (4% a little worried, 5% not worried) that anyone in their immediate family might catch Covid-19.

The latest percentage of those worried about catching Covid-19 is 4 points above the 87% (correctly rounded) in June 2021 and ties the record-high level reached in November 2020.

Compared to past SWS surveys, worry about catching Covid-19 is much greater than worries about catching previous viruses such as Ebola, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

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Margret Fermin
Margret Fermin
Margret Fermin is a news writer based in the Philippines.