Poll: Fewer in U.S. concerned about access to COVID-19 tests, hospitals

May 15 (UPI) -- Fewer Americans are concerned now about access to coronavirus tests and hospital supplies and services than were two weeks ago, a new Gallup survey showed Friday.

The pollster said 52 percent of respondents said they're very or moderately worried about the availability of tests, a decline of 10 percent. Forty-eight percent said the same about hospital supplies and services, a 9 percent drop.

"These changes likely reflect the expansion of coronavirus testing in the U.S. in recent weeks, as well as the closure of temporary hospital facilities and reduced crowding in places like New York and Detroit," Gallup wrote.

Concern varied greatly among geographical regions, race and ages. The survey showed younger, non-white and urban residents are the most concerned.

Politically, 78 percent of Democrats, 52 percent of independents and 22 percent of Republicans said they're concerned about access to testing.

At the end of April, the United States had performed almost 6 million tests but lags behind other nations in the category.

Gallup surveyed about 4,100 U.S. adults for the survey, which has a margin of error of 3 points.