Most Americans don't trust strangers to be honest about their vaccination status

Vaccine stickers.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Nearly 50 percent of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but most Americans seemingly have little trust in those outside their immediate circle to honestly report vaccination status, according to a new survey from Axios and Ipsos.

More than 80 percent of poll respondents trust family and friends to be honest about their status, and 71 percent of respondents said the same of coworkers. When it came to strangers, however, respondents were much less certain. Only 25 percent of those polled said they trust someone at a bar, nightclub, outdoor sporting event or concert to be honest about their vaccination status. Even fewer — 24 percent — trust someone at the airport.

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Despite the apparent skepticism, "Americans are taking off their masks and re-engaging publicly at levels not seen since the start of the pandemic," writes Axios. Only 45 percent of poll respondents reported mask-wearing at all times while outside the home, down 13 percent from an earlier survey published May 11. The change is "mostly due" to vaccinations, reports Ipsos.

Axios and Ipsos surveyed 1,102 adults from May 21 to May 24 via panel. The poll has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points. See more results at Ipsos.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.