By far, most Utahns believe they are personally prepared for the effects of the coronavirus, a new UtahPolicy.com/ 2News poll finds.
One can only hope that such confidence continues as Beehive State citizens face some of the tough impacts of the pandemic over the next month or six weeks.
The new survey, conducted by Y2 Analytics, finds that 93 percent of Utah voters say they are “very” or “somewhat” prepared for the effects of the virus.
Only 7 percent said they personally are “not too” prepared for what’s coming, while zero percent said they are “not at all” prepared.
By healthy super majorities, Utahns also say they believe local doctors and hospitals are prepared for what is coming.
And they say that Gov. Gary Herbert and state officials are prepared.
Utahns also have confidence that their own friends and family are prepared for the effects of the virus.
However, most Utahns say President Donald Trump and federal government officials are not prepared for the effects of the virus on Americans.
Here are the numbers:
80 percent say local doctors and hospitals are “very” or “somewhat” prepared for the effects of the virus, which could include tens of thousands of Utahns getting the virus, and hundreds of deaths.
All grim numbers.
18 percent say local health care professions are “not to” prepared, while 3 percent believe they are “not at all” prepared.
51 percent say Trump and federal officials are not prepared for the effects of the coronavirus, while 49 percent say they are.
Once again, Utahns’ beliefs about Trump/coronavirus depend on their political leanings — 90 percent of “strong” Republicans say Trump is prepared for the effects, only 39 percent of independents say he’s prepared, while 3 percent of “strong” Democrats say the president and federal officials are prepared.
57 percent of Utah men say Trump is prepared for the virus’ effects, but only 42 percent of women agree.
81 percent say Herbert and state officials are prepared to meet the virus, 19 percent say they are not.
That’s a strong vote of confidence in our state officials.
76 percent of Utahns say their own friends and family are prepared for the effects of the virus, 24 percent say they are not.
And 59 percent say the nation’s health care system is prepared for the virus’ effects, but 41 percent say it is not.
The high vote of confidence in Utahns’ own personal preparedness, and their faith in their local doctors and hospitals, friends and family is a good sign as Utahns face the harsh realities over the next month or so, with local experts saying the peak of the virus infections and deaths here should come toward the end of April.
Y2 polled 1,331 individuals between March 21-30, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percent.
