68% of Americans say an available vaccine is very important before returning to normal life, new survey finds

Two new Gallup surveys show how stay-at-home behavior and attitudes towards the pandemic have changed in the last month.

Here were some of the key findings:

Small gatherings: Fewer people avoiding small gatherings than were doing so last month, one survey found.

Around 74% of Americans say they’re avoiding small gatherings — that's down slightly from 80% who said so in mid-April, an indication that some are starting to break their quarantines and return to their lives.
The avoidance of small gatherings has decreased mostly among independents and Republicans — down 10 percentage points since mid-April among independents to 74% and down 7 percentage points to 60% among Republicans.
Visiting family and friends: Gallup also found more people now say they are going to visit others in their homes.