Most Americans still trust information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Tuesday study from Axios and Ipsos.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they have a fair amount or a great deal of trust in information from the NIH, while 40 percent do not trust the institute.
Sixty-two percent of people trust findings from the CDC — a drop of 26 percentage points from before the onset of the pandemic in 2020 — while 36 percent of survey takers do not trust their information.
The CDC and the NIH have made headlines in recent weeks as the Trump administration has sought to slash spending and reduce the size and scope of the federal government, including firings and funding freezes at the two departments. It also comes as national concerns persist about bird flu as well as a growing measles outbreak in several states.
The survey found that 55 percent of the public said the leaders at the CDC are concerned about the well-being of the public, and 27 percent disagreed. Fifty-two percent of people believe most employees at the CDC are honest with the public, compared to 28 percent of people who do not agree.
A majority of respondents, 85 percent, trust information about health topics from their personal doctor, while 13 percent do not have confidence in data from their doctor.
The Axios and Ipsos survey also measured respondents’ trust in health information from public figures.
Sixty-six percent of respondents said they do not trust health information from President Trump, while 31 percent trust his statements; 74 percent said they do not trust health information from Trump adviser and tech billionaire Elon Musk, while 23 percent do trust information from the tech giant.
More than two-thirds of respondents said they do not trust Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s authority on health topics. Just 31 percent said they trusted him, while 66 percent stated they did not.
This Axios-Ipsos survey was conducted from Feb. 28 to March 3 with responses from 1,066 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
