CA Health Interview Survey Finds Fatigue with COVID-19 Safety Guidelines

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR), through the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), continues to track Californians’ engagement in COVID-19 risk reduction behaviors, impacts on personal and financial wellbeing, and views on the COVID-19 vaccine.

The latest data from July 2021 finds declines in adherence to COVID-19 safety guidelines and increases in gathering with members outside of the household. Among Californians who tested positive for COVID-19, individuals were more likely to experience difficulties in paying for necessities and rent or mortgage than residents who tested negative.

Key findings from the latest report include:

• California adults who said they always wore face coverings when leaving their homes decreased by more than 40 percent between March and July 2021
  • Adults who indicated they will not receive the COVID-19 vaccine were least likely to always wear face coverings, and nearly 1 in 5 adults (18.2 percent) who said they will not receive the vaccine indicated they never wore face coverings when leaving home in July (compared to 6.4 percent in June).

• California adults who always maintained six feet distance from others when leaving their home in the past week dropped from 54 percent in March/April to 36.2 percent in July 2021

• Personal and financial impacts, such as reduced job hours or income and difficulty paying for necessities and rent/mortgage varied by race/ethnicity, citizenship status, and other factors
  • White adults were least likely to experience reduce job hours/income compared to multiracial, Black, Latino, and Asian adults
  • Non-citizens were nearly twice as likely as citizens to have reduced hours/income and difficulties paying their rent/mortgage

Additional information, including the full data dashboard, is available here.