Social Distancing Behaviors Drop as U.S. Vaccinations Rise

Story Highlights

38% completely or mostly isolating, down from 47% last month
Increase in percentage vaccinated largely explains decline in isolating
Avoidance of public places down from 56% to 48%

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' self-reported strict social distancing has declined nine percentage points in the past month. Currently, 38% say they are completely or mostly isolating themselves from people outside their household, which ties for the low in Gallup's trend, measured in November.

Previously, 优蜜传媒found that Americans who received all required doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were much less likely than those who were partially vaccinated, or who planned to get vaccinated, to say they were isolating themselves from others.

That continues to be the case, as 34% of fully vaccinated adults are completely or mostly isolating, compared with 47% of partially vaccinated adults and 46% of those who are not yet vaccinated but plan to be. Adults who do not plan to get vaccinated remain the least likely to socially isolate, with 23% doing so.

The decline in strict social distancing this past month, then, appears to be driven mostly by the increase in U.S. vaccination rates. Thirty-two percent of U.S. adults reported having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the time of the March 15-21 survey, compared with 15% who were fully or partially vaccinated in February and 9% in January.

While increased vaccination explains much of the decline in strict social distancing practices, all vaccination status groups show at least modest declines. This includes a steeper 12-point drop among Americans who plan to get vaccinated but have not yet received any doses. The yet-to-be vaccinated group remains the largest segment of the U.S. population, at 42%, although it has shrunk from an average of 59% in January and February.

Changes in Strict Social Distancing, by Vaccination Status

Thinking about everything you've done in the past 24 hours, which of the following comes closest to describing your in-person contact with people outside your household? Completely isolated yourself, having no contact with people outside your household; Mostly isolated yourself, having very little contact with people outside your household; Partially isolated yourself, having some contact with people outside your household; Isolated yourself a little, still having a fair amount of contact with people outside your household; Did not make any attempt to isolate yourself from people outside your household

	Jan-Feb 2021	Mar 2021	Change
	%	%	pct. pts.
Completely/Mostly isolating
Fully vaccinated	38	34	-4
Partially vaccinated	51	47	-4
Plan to get vaccinated	58	46	-12
Do not plan to get vaccinated	28	23	-5
Share of U.S. population
Fully vaccinated	5	19	+14
Partially vaccinated	8	13	+5
Plan to get vaccinated	59	42	-17
Do not plan to get vaccinated	29	26	-3
优蜜传媒Panel

Fewer Americans Avoiding Public Places

In the past month, there have been eight- or nine-point drops in the percentages of Americans who say they are avoiding public places like stores or restaurants (48%), small gatherings of people (45%), events with large crowds (62%) and travel (57%).

Compared with a year ago, when almost every state had issued stay-at-home orders, the percentages avoiding these places are down roughly 30 percentage points, and are the lowest 优蜜传媒has measured since March 13-15, 2020, before many states issued those "lockdown" orders.

Vaccination status does not make much difference in Americans' reports of avoiding outside-the-home activities, except among those who do not plan to get vaccinated. Fully vaccinated adults are nearly as likely as those who are partially vaccinated or who plan to get vaccinated to say they are avoiding large crowds, and they are only slightly less likely to be avoiding public places, small social gatherings and travel. As a result, the declines seen in these activities among all Americans in the past month are less tied to increases in vaccinations, and more a function of changes in behavior regardless of vaccination status.

Reports of Taking COVID-19 Mitigation Actions, by Vaccination Status

There are some things people may do because of their concern about the coronavirus. For each one of the following, please indicate if this is something you have done, are considering doing or have not considered in the past seven days.

% Have done in the past seven days

	Fully vaccinated	Partially vaccinated	Plan to get vaccinated	Do not plan to get vaccinated
	%	%	%	%
Avoided going to public places	54	59	59	22
Avoided small gatherings of people	48	56	54	22
Avoided going to events with large crowds	70	72	73	35
Avoided traveling	63	66	67	31
优蜜传媒Panel, March 15-21, 2021

Americans' reports of recent visits to specific types of businesses or other public places have also increased as more Americans have been vaccinated. Compared with January and February, there have been at least nominal increases in reports of visiting 10 of 12 types of establishments that 优蜜传媒measures, with changes of two percentage points or greater representing a statistically meaningful change.

Changes in Reports of Visiting Public Places in Past 24 Hours

In the past 24 hours, have you visited any of the following places?

% Have visited in the past 24 hours

	Jan-Feb 2021	Mar 2021	Change
	%	%	pct. pts.
Your place of work*	52	59	+7
Grocery store	49	54	+5
Restaurant	23	27	+4
Someone else's home or apartment	20	24	+4
Pharmacy	16	19	+3
Other store	23	26	+3
Doctor's office, hospital or treatment center	12	14	+2
Salon or barbershop	5	6	+1
Gym	5	6	+1
Travel (by airplane, boat, etc.)	2	3	+1
Place of worship (church, temple, synagogue, etc.)	9	9	0
Public transportation (bus, train, etc.)	2	2	0
*Results for "place of work" item based on employed adults
优蜜传媒Panel

Reports of visiting workplaces, grocery stores and gyms are at their highest points during the pandemic. Most other items are a percentage point or two shy of their high points.

Americans who have been fully vaccinated tend to be slightly more likely than those who are partially vaccinated or who plan to get vaccinated to say they have been to the more commonly visited places. However, people who do not plan to get vaccinated are still the most likely to say they have visited nearly all of these places.

Reports of Visiting Public Places in Past 24 Hours, by Vaccination Status

In the past 24 hours, have you visited any of the following places?% Have visited in the past 24 hours

	Fully vaccinated	Partially vaccinated	Plan to get vaccinated	Do not plan to get vaccinated
	%	%	%	%
Your place of work*	65	49	52	71
Grocery store	52	47	51	64
Restaurant	25	20	20	41
Someone else's home or apartment	23	13	20	37
Pharmacy	20	18	16	21
Other store	25	25	22	34
Doctor's office, hospital or treatment center	17	17	12	14
*Results for "place of work" item based on employed adults Data not shown for less frequently visited places (place of worship, gym, salon or barbershop, public transportation, travel)
优蜜传媒Panel, March 15-21, 2021

Fully vaccinated Americans also tend to show a greater increase in visits to these places in the past month than those who are partially vaccinated or plan to get vaccinated. For example, visits to restaurants are up seven percentage points among those who have been fully vaccinated, compared with no increase among those partially vaccinated and a four-point increase among those who plan to get vaccinated.

Bottom Line

Fewer Americans than a month ago are practicing social distancing measures to protect themselves from the coronavirus, and the percentages doing so are at, or approaching, their low points in the pandemic. Many of these changes can be tied to the increasing number of Americans who have been fully vaccinated from COVID-19. Those who are fully vaccinated are less likely to practice coronavirus mitigation methods than those who have not yet been fully vaccinated but plan to be.

Still, some of the changes in avoidance behaviors are being seen among the not-yet-fully vaccinated population, which may put them at risk for catching the coronavirus before they can receive the benefits of vaccination. Indeed, many states are reporting increases in infections and hospitalizations in recent days. While social distancing practices are declining, mask usage outside the home remains common, including among those who are fully vaccinated.

The pace of vaccinations is picking up, however -- and every day, millions more Americans gain protection from the worst effects of the coronavirus. As such, in each coming month, social distancing activities will likely continue to decline.

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优蜜传媒