Pre-Holiday Covid Update & a New RPS Study Coming

As radio looks at relating to audiences across the Thanksgiving holiday and the Christmas shopping season beyond, a brand-new NuVoodoo Quick-Turn Study of 2,105 Adults 18+ nationwide shows lots of Covid booster doses already in arms and considerable anticipation of lifestyle activities. These new data were collected November 12-16 and show 75% at least partially-vaccinated, 24% already “boosted” and the number saying they will NOT get vaccinated at just 13% (with another 8% still on the fence about vaccination).

This latest Quick-Turn Study is likely to be our last fielding for 2021 as we’re hard at work on the questionnaire for our next Ratings Prospects Study to field at the start of 2022. It’ll be our nineteenth Ratings Prospects Study as we continue to look for the differences between garden-variety research respondents and the special few who’ll participate with the ratings service. We do this to arm our clients and ourselves with extra insights to give stations an edge in generating ratings. As we get ready for the new study, my colleague Mike O’Connor is taking a look back at important findings from past “RPS” (Ratings Prospects) studies in a series of short videos. You can watch the first one here.

Our new Covid data shows more booster doses in the Western region of the US, along with a strong number of initial vaccinations and the lowest number of vaccine resistors. Vaccine resistance is highest in the Midwest and Southern US, but remains higher than might be expected in the Northeast. Though, compared with the other regions, the Northeast has the strongest showing of fully-vaccinated adults.

Fully 70% of our sample who’d been dining in restaurants before the pandemic say they’re making and keeping plans to dine indoors, but those remaining are keeping the option to cancel if numbers take a turn for the worst. 66% are ready to make and keep plans to attend holiday parties; those remaining are split between groups who might cancel and those who will cancel – if Covid numbers rise significantly.

You can imagine the thinking of some respondents as they consider how much they want or need to attend various activities balanced against the relative safety they might imagine in the different circumstances. Sporting events and concerts both get solid planned attendance by nearly 60% of those who’d attended them pre-pandemic. It may take more work to sell all the seats in a concert venue, but there are plenty of fans ready to connect with their favorite performers in person.

More people getting vaccinated (and “boosted), along with being able to get children vaccinated should make the upcoming holiday season safer and more joyous for all. Though our data shows some of the challenge with only 31% of the unvaccinated in our sample agreeing they should be required to wear masks at indoor public settings – and only 21% agreeing that proof of vaccination should be required for indoor public activities. A two-thirds majority of the unvaccinated individuals in our sample feel that they alone should decide what measures are necessary to prevent the spread of Covid.

Choices will be made difficult for those planning holiday gatherings with over half the vaccinated adults in our sample saying they won’t attend gatherings with unvaccinated attendees. A similar-sized majority also say that, if lockdowns are necessary again, the lockdowns should be imposed only on people who are not vaccinated.