Reach of COVID-19 pandemic could be wider than previously thought: poll

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Poll findings released Tuesday showed that the reach of the COVID-19 pandemic could be wider than previously thought.

An Axios/Ipsos poll conducted from July 15-18 among 1,155 Americans found that 46 percent of the interviewees have had, or suspect they have had, COVID-19 at some point during the pandemic, a percentage much higher than the estimates carried out by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on the presence of antibodies in the blood.

Among those who have had or suspect they have had the disease, more than a quarter say they have been reinfected, the poll showed.

Besides, 78 percent of the interviewees agree with the statement that "we will never fully be rid of the coronavirus in my lifetime," it showed.

Data from the Johns Hopkins University's dashboard showed that the United States has so far reported nearly 90 million COVID-19 cases, with more than a million deaths.