Poll: 75 percent of Americans support requiring vaccines, masks, or both to access indoor public spaces

A Politico-Morning Consult poll released Wednesday shows that, while frustration with COVID-19 restrictions has become increasingly mainstream, plenty of voters aren't ready to return to pre-pandemic normalcy just yet.

Ffity-four percent of respondents said government should prioritize the economy over slowing the spread of COVID. Only 38 percent said addressing COVID should be the higher priority.

But, when pollsters introduced the trade-offs involved, the numbers flipped. While 57 percent of voters said "Americans should continue to social distance for as long as is needed to curb the spread of coronavirus even if it means continued damage to the economy," only 31 percent said "Americans should stop social distancing to stimulate the economy even if it means increasing the spread of coronavirus."

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Seventy-five percent said local governments should encourage either vaccinations, masks, or both to access indoor public spaces.

However, according to Politico, support for encouraging both masks and vaccinations, which stands at 49 percent, is down seven points since September.

Support for COVID restrictions remains fairly strong, but this support is heavily concentrated among Democrats. A solid 65 percent of Democrat respondents said it was too early to for states to rescind mask mandates, compared to 42 percent of independents and only 20 percent of Republicans.

In light of this disparity, Democratic governors seeking to broaden their party's appeal ahead of the midterms have relaxed COVID restrictions in recent weeks.

The Politico-Morning Consult poll surveyed 2,005 registered voters, was conducted on Feb. 12 and 13, and has an error margin of two percent.