Poll: Share of vaxxed who say they're comfortable socializing rises after CDC guidance

In the latest weekly Return to Normal trend data gathered May 13-15, an average of 45 percent of vaccinated U.S. adults said they’d be “very” or “somewhat” comfortable doing a broad range of 43 activities — from going to the movies or a party to going on a cruise, attending a work conference or flying on an airplane — up 6 percentage points from averages collected in a May 6-8 survey ahead of the CDC’s May 13 announcement, which drew criticism from some epidemiologists and other public health professionals. As Morning Consult economist John Leer noted last week, increasing comfort among the vaccinated population will be a key driver in the country’s economic recovery. The latest findings suggest that the new guidance on masking could help businesses pick up the pace. The largest week-to-week jumps in comfort were measured for activities toward which vaccinated Americans had previously expressed less reticence. The share of vaccinated Americans who said they would feel comfortable dining at a restaurant increased by 11 percentage points, to 67 percent, while the share who said the same of shopping at a mall and socializing in public places saw 9-point upticks, to 60 percent and 54 percent, respectively.