IL Masking Survey Shows Drastic Shift In COVID Fears In 1 Year

ACROSS ILLINOIS — When it comes to public attitude about masking, a lot has changed in one year.

Illinois Patch recently surveyed readers regarding their thoughts on masking, and what it would take for them to put a mask back on. And of the more than 1,600 responses in our unscientific survey, here is what we learned:

• Nearly 63 percent of those who responded said they never wear masks in public. That's a drastic shift from last year, when nearly 7 percent of Patch readers who responded said they never wore masks.
• Today, 22 percent of readers who responded say they always or nearly always wear masks, compared to 73 percent last year.

Both then and now, the Chicago area was seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases, with many counties falling under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends residents — even if they are vaccinated — wear masks while indoors in public. Currently, a high level of transmission is being reported for McHenry, Lake, DuPage, Cook and Will counties. Meanwhile, Kane and Kendall counties are at a medium level of transmission.

But many have been going mask-free for some time, and public knowledge and opinion regarding the effectiveness of vaccines has changed as well.

New omicron variants, including BA.4 and BA.5, appear equipped to get around vaccines and sicken those who've previously been infected, but public health officials say vaccinations and boosters seem to be effective in lessening the chance for serious illness.

So, what would it take for local residents to put their masks back on? According to this summer's Illinois Patch masking survey, 44.4 percent of those who responded say they refuse to wear a mask and nothing could change their minds on that. Here's what others say could affect their decision:

• 23 percent reported a mask mandate would get them to put on a face covering in public
• 16.5 percent say changes in public health guidance would get them to aks up

Meanwhile, public opinion on whether masks should be required in schools has also chanted drastically in the past year, according to Patch's unofficial survey. Last year, 77 percent of Illinois Patch readers who responded said students, teachers and staff should be required to wear masks all the time or when social distancing cannot be observed. An additional 23.3 percent said masks should not be required.

This year, 63.8 percent of respondents said masks should never be required, while 27.6 percent say masks should be required all the time. The remaining 8.6 percent said "other" reasons could affect that decision, including changing transmission rates in the area where their school is located.

Public Fear Over Contracting COVID Drops

The level of fear survey responders have regarding contacting COVID-19 this year compared to last has dropped as well. Both years, we asked Illinos Patch readers to respond to this question: "On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, how great are your fears of catching the virus yourself?"

This year, 53.8 percent of those who responded reported the lowest level of fear, while last year, 22.7 percent gave the same response. Last year, 16 percent had an extremely high fear — a 5 on our survey — of catching the virus. This year, 11.5 percent marked their COVID-19 fears at a 5.

At the same time, public opinion over how the pandemic is being handled by government officials seems to have shifted. Both years we asked readers to answer this: "On a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best, how well do you think state and local authorities have responded to the pandemic?"

This year, 42.6 percent of readers responded with a 1 while last year, only 15.2 percent give local and state authorities low marks for their handling of the virus. This year, 12 percent responded with our highest mark, a 5, while more than double — or 28.4 percent — placed high confidence in government officials one year ago.

• Who Is Masking In Illinois?: Patch Survey - Chicago
• Chicago-Area Counties Again Have 'High' COVID Transmission: CDC
• Masked or Unmasked: Have IL School Changes Affected Your Child?