Trust in Career Scientists Higher Among Public Than CDC, NIH, FDA Leaders

A new poll from Annenberg conducted in the first half of February found that Americans are “placing their trust in career scientists and professional medical organizations over the heads of federal health agencies” like the CDC, NIH, and FDA. CIDRAP has the news.

Only 43% of Americans said they had confidence in the agency leaders, while about two-thirds of respondents said they were confident in the career scientists                at the agencies. Less than “four in 10 adults polled (38%) said they are confident Kennedy is providing trustworthy information on public health,” and only 42% said they trust information from Mehmet Oz, administrator of CMS.

Those polled also had greater trust in “major health and science associations outside government—including the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Medical Association (AMA), and National Academy of Sciences—than in the CDC, NIH, or FDA.” 77% of those polled said they are confident in the AAP to “make public health recommendations,” versus 59% of those polled who said they are confident that the CDC is “providing the public with trustworthy information about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.”

In the case of a disagreement on the safety of a vaccine, “Americans are twice as likely to accept the recommendation of the AMA (34%) than the CDC (15%). Trust in federal health agencies has fallen during Trump’s second term.”