Perceptions on lethality of COVID-19 increasingly partisan: Gallup poll

The share of Democrats and independents who saw COVID-19 as more deadly than the seasonal flu ticked up between March and April as the share of Republicans who said the same stayed flat, according to polling released by Gallup on Tuesday.

In April, 87% of Democrats, 66% of independents and 40% of Republicans said the death rate from COVID-19 is greater than the death rate from the seasonal flu.

In a survey taken in March, 74% of Democrats said the same, compared to 61% of independents and 42% of Republicans.

The death rate for the seasonal flu is estimated to be about 0.1%. Estimates of the death rate for the coronavirus in the U.S. have varied widely, but numerous studies have put it significantly higher.

In the April survey, Republicans were also 10 times as likely as Democrats to say the official death count from the coronavirus in the U.S. is overstated.

“The consequences of engaging in partisan battles over coronavirus-related issues are high because Americans appear primed to engage in partisan-motivated reasoning,” wrote Gallup’s Zacc Ritter.

The results were based on two Gallup/Knight Foundation internet surveys.

The survey of 1,449 adults conducted from March 17-29 has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, as does the survey of 1,693 adults taken from April 14-20.