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A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 21 February 2020

AP-NORC poll: More Americans worry about flu than new virus

By CARLA K. JOHNSON and it. People who say they've
HANNAH FINGERHUT heard a lot about the out-
Associated Press break are more likely to
A wide share of Ameri- say they're very concerned
cans are at least mod- about it than people who
erately confident in U.S. have heard less than that,
health officials' ability to but high levels of concern
handle emerging viruses, are still rare.
and more express con- Like many Americans, Chris
cern about catching the Harris of Iowa City is keep-
flu than catching the new ing up with the news, but is
coronavirus, according to not worried about the new
a poll from The Associated coronavirus. He's more wor-
Press-NORC Center for Pub- ried about influenza.
lic Affairs Research. "I don't want to miss work,"
The findings are encour- said Harris, a 51-year-old
aging to those banking certified financial planner
on Americans' trust in the who's had his annual flu
health officials who are shot. "I'd be out for a few
ordering quarantines and days and it would put me
travel restrictions to contain farther behind."
the virus first detected in Comparable shares of
China. Americans — roughly 2
"Our ability to control the in 10 — say they are very This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health
virus hangs on people's worried about getting the in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of
cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19.
willingness to accept the coronavirus and the flu. Associated Press
advice of health authori- Roughly another 2 in 10 say
ties," said Jennifer Nuzzo of they are moderately wor- ate considering U.S. health consultant said she's more different when they hear
the Johns Hopkins Center ried about the coronavi- officials estimate the nation worried about the flu than somebody in their commu-
for Health Security in Bal- rus, but more than half of has already seen at least about the new virus and nity has the virus."
timore. If the virus spreads Americans say they are not 14,000 deaths from flu this she feels confident the U.S. That may happen.
more widely, public trust concerned. season, said Janet Base- health care system could The Centers for Disease
will become even more im- More have concerns about man of the University of handle an outbreak of a Control and Prevention is
portant, Nuzzo said. getting the flu: About 4 in Washington School of Pub- new pathogen. starting an effort to see if
News of the coronavirus 10 say they are moderately lic Health in Seattle. "We're fortunate in the the virus is spreading silent-
outbreak is pervasive, with worried, while just about 3 "That's a threat we have country that we don't ly. The CDC is adding coro-
about half saying they have in 10 say they are not. year after year," Baseman have to panic about these navirus testing to the net-
heard or read a lot about That concern is appropri- said. In contrast, there have things," she said of the new work that normally tracks
been 15 cases of the new virus. "We should be able to flu. When a patient sample
virus in the United States, deal with this type of situa- tests negative for flu, lab
plus some Americans who tion in this country with our workers will check it for the
were told they had it as massive resources." new virus.
they left a quarantined About a third of those The extra tests will start in
cruise ship in Japan. One polled have high confi- public health labs in five
U.S. citizen died in China. dence in officials' ability to cities: Los Angeles, San
Concern about the coro- handle an outbreak, while Francisco, Seattle, Chica-
navirus is roughly equal about 4 in 10 are moder- go and New York, then ex-
among Americans who ately confident. About 2 in pand around the country.
have had a flu shot in the 10 say they are not confi- As for Burton, she intends
past year and those who dent. to stay informed about the
have not, the poll found. "All this potentially could new virus by reading three
Sarah Burton, 57, of subur- change when we start newspapers.
ban Indianapolis got her finding more cases in the "The scary thing for me is
flu shot this year. The envi- U.S.," said Nuzzo, the health they don't know how to
ronmental management security expert. "It will be stop it yet," Burton said.q

Snow falls across coastal

North Carolina, Virginia

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Snow a warning that, "White- Carolina." Early in-person
was falling Thursday across out conditions are pos- voting sites in dozens of
North Carolina and Virgin- sible along the coast due North Carolina's 100 coun-
ia, including in coastal ar- to heavy snow and gusty ties closed early on Thurs-
eas that rarely see snow. winds." day. Many voting sites were
Gov. Roy Cooper said parts "The state is getting ready, expected to have limited
of northeastern North Car- and everyone else should hours or to be closed on
olina will see the most pre- too," Cooper said, adding Friday, according to the
cipitation in the state, with that "it's going to get cold- State Board of Elections.
as much as 3-6 inches (7.5- er and this winter storm will Early voting for the March 3
15 centimeters). He issued affect most parts of North primary ends Feb. 29.q