CANADA – A new poll shows a majority of Canadians believe they will be infected by the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The poll, conducted by the non-profit Angus Reid Institute, shows 55 per cent of Canadians believe they will contract Omicron, regardless of the precautions they take.
Notably, this sentiment rises to at least three-in-five among parents who have children in grade school.
Still, those who feel they can’t avoid an Omicron infection are split on whether it’s time to remove all public health restrictions. Among those who feel that they will be infected with the latest variant no matter what they do, 48 per cent say that public health measures should be removed completely, while 48 per cent disagree.
Other key findings of the poll show that half of men aged 54 and under would like to see the end of restrictions. For all other age-gender groups, a majority wouldn’t end restrictions, including 66 per cent of women aged 55 and older.
Few Canadians (23 per cent) also believe 2022 will be the final year of the pandemic.
