| A poll released this week by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce shows that voters overwhelmingly oppose the state Legislature imposing mandates on how businesses respond to COVID-19 and the Delta variant.
North Star Opinion Research’s statewide survey also shows that 80 percent of state voters consider COVID-19 and the Delta variant to be a serious problem; 57% believe the worst is still yet to come.
Key points from North Star Opinion Research’s statewide survey include:
· 67% said employers should make decisions on whether employees should be vaccinated; only 18% think the state Legislature should make that decision.
· 69% believe local school boards and not the Legislature should decide how to keep children safe in school.
· 51% percent of voters believe hospitals in their area are reaching full capacity; only 28% believe they still have capacity.
· 64% are very or somewhat concerned that hospitals will not have beds for them if they become seriously ill.
West Virginia Chamber President Steve Roberts said the survey was intended to determine whether opposition toward efforts to end the pandemic is shared by more than a small, vocal minority. It is not, he said.
“The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce is committed to helping businesses and employers of the Mountain State bring an end to this pandemic and normalize the nation’s economy,” Roberts said.
“To that goal, we support the decisions of employers throughout the state to utilize their best efforts to protect their employees while maintaining the rights of protected classes through reasonable accommodation.”
The Chamber said North Star Opinion Research surveyed 600 voters from a sample of registered voters throughout the state. All respondents confirmed they are registered to vote. Calling quotas were set by gender, age and county according to the number of voters in each county. Calls were conducted Sept. 7-9. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 4%. |
