Washing hands often, especially during times when one is likely to acquire and spread pathogens,* is one important measure to help prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as well as other pathogens spread by respiratory or fecal-oral transmission (1,2). Studies have reported moderate to high levels of self-reported handwashing among adults worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic (3-5) † ; however, little is known about how handwashing behavior among U.S. adults has changed since the start of the pandemic. For this study, survey data from October 2019 (prepandemic) and June 2020 (during pandemic) were compared to assess changes in adults' remembering to wash their hands in six situations. § Statistically significant increases in reported handwashing were seen in June 2020 compared with October 2019 in four of the six situations; the odds of remembering to wash hands was 2.3 times higher among respondents after coughing, sneezing, or blowing their nose, 2.0 times higher before eating at a restaurant, and 1.7 times higher before eating at home. Men, young adults aged 18-24 years, and non-Hispanic White (White) adults were less likely to remember to wash hands in multiple situations. Strategies to help persons remember to wash their hands frequently and at important times should be identified and implemented, especially among groups reporting low prevalence of remembering to wash their hands. Data from ConsumerStyles fall and summer surveys conducted by Porter Novelli Public Services in October 2019 and June 2020 were analyzed for this study. ¶ These data are collected by Porter Novelli Public Services through Ipsos' Knowledge Panel, an online market research panel. This panel is designed to be representative of the noninstitutionalized U.S. population, and panel members are recruited randomly by mail through probability, address-based sampling. Respondents receive points for participating in the panel, which can be used to redeem cash and prizes. The samples from each year were weighted to match the U.S. population across eight * https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html. †

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