Here's how many people say they've never had COVID

WASHINGTON - It’s been five years since the COVID-19 pandemic affected the lives of Americans and forced everyone to adapt to a new way of life, from wearing masks to social distancing amid closures of businesses and schools. 

In the aftermath of the pandemic, some Americans say they have never had COVID. While almost half of people say their life is completely back to normal, others believe they will eventually return to pre-pandemic normalcy, according to a new Gallup poll. 

Who's had COVID?

Big picture view:

The experiences of Americans during the pandemic differ when it comes to their COVID status. 

Approximately 28% of Americans claim they never had COVID. People 65 years and older said they are most likely to say they have had COVID-19 (39%) which may be the result of them taking extra precautions, as evidenced by their much higher vaccination rates.

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Gallup noted that fewer young (21%) and middle-aged (26%) adults report that they have not been affected so far.

The study also found that 72% of individuals say they have had or suspected they had COVID-19 at least once in the last five years. While 16% of Americans report having tested positive for COVID-19 but being asymptomatic.

Americans express concerns about catching COVID

Dig deeper:

While 58% of Americans worry that there will be another global pandemic in their lifetime, some respondents to the poll expressed concern about catching COVID. 

The poll finds that Americans’ current worry about getting COVID hasn’t changed compared to 2024, with 21% saying they are very worried (3%) or somewhat (18%) worried. Meanwhile, approximately 40% of respondents admit they are not worried at all, and 39% are not too worried.

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According to Gallup, worry about getting COVID-19 was highest in the first year of the pandemic, before the vaccine was released. Americans worry averaged 53% between April and November 2020. The lowest point in worry about getting COVID was 17% in June 2021, after a majority of Americans received a COVID-19 shot. Worry then increased as new variants of the disease spread in 2021 and 2022, but it has since come down.

Additionally, concern about contracting COVID-19 remains highest among Democrats and some largely Democratic groups like women, people of color and city residents. The 29% of Democrats who now say they are worried about getting the virus compared with 9% of Republicans and 21% of independents.

Majority of Americans say the pandemic is over

Americans concerned about another pandemic

What's next:

A majority of Americans (58%) are worried that there will be another global pandemic in their life, including 16% who are "very worried" and 42% "somewhat worried." Another 26% of people are "not too worried," while 15% are "not worried at all."

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Separately, Democrats (78%) and independents (57%) say they are at least somewhat worried, compared with 34% of Republicans. About 29% of Republicans are not worried at all about another pandemic, and 37% are not too worried.

How was data gathered for the study?

Gallup collected data for their report from a Feb. 18-26 update to their probability-based COVID-19 web panel tracking poll, which began in March 2020.