Polls show Americans less worried about COVID-19

Two new polls offer a glimpse into how Americans are thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic as the Omicron surge continues to recede across the country, as new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demonstrate moderate vaccine protection in young children against serious COVID illness.Just 24% of Americans say they are "extremely" or "very" worried about themselves or a family member getting COVID, according to a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research Poll.

That's down from 36% in December and January.Another 34% of poll participants said they are somewhat worried about the virus.In a Washington Post-ABC News poll, 49% of Americans say the pandemic is only somewhat under control, and 15% say it is not at all under control.

Fifty-six percent of respondents say they have fully or partly returned to pre-coronavirus life.Thirty-four percent of those polled said they regard the pandemic as largely controlled, which is the highest proportion for that response since surveys began tracking attitudes about the pandemic, the Post said.Sixty percent of Americans said they expect and welcome some restrictions on daily life, while 40% said no restrictions are needed at this point.Vaccine, booster protection in kidsOn the heels of data from New York state that show the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine performed poorly in preventing illness in children ages 5 to 11, the CDC today published new data that show two-dose protection of the vaccine against emergency department (ED) and urgent care (UC) visit among 5- to 11-year-olds was 46% 14 to 67 days after the second dose.The study also found that booster vaccine doses helped prevent illness during the Omicron surge by restoring vaccine