Trump's health team has a trust issue
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Fewer than half of U.S. adults in a new poll trust health recommendations from President Trump and his picks to lead federal health policy, but Republicans are about as likely to trust them as they are their own doctors.
Why it matters: Democrats, independents and Republicans have all lost trust in medical professionals and government health agencies over the past 18 months.
- But there is still a deep partisan divide over how Americans view health information and the people and institutions who share health-related messages.
- The split emerged during the pandemic and has become more entrenched in the almost five years since.
By the numbers: Less than half of the respondents surveyed this month trust President Trump (42%) and Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (43%) at least a fair amount to make the right recommendations on health issues.
- But among Republicans, similar shares say they trust Trump (84%) and Kennedy (81%) as say they trust their own doctors (84%).
- 85% of respondents said they trust their doctor at least a fair amount to make the right health recommendations. That's still the vast majority, but it's down from 93% in KFF's June 2023 poll.
- 61% of adults in the poll, released by KFF on Tuesday, said they trust the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make good health suggestions, and 53% said they trust the Food and Drug Administration. That's down from 66% and 65%, respectively, in 2023.
Zoom in: Public sentiments toward vaccines also appear to be shifting, especially among Republican parents, the KFF poll shows.
- 82% of parents with kids under age 18 said they typically keep their child up to date with recommended vaccines. The figure, while still high, is down eight percentage points from 2023, KFF noted.
- Among Republican parents, about one-quarter (26%) say they have skipped or delayed some vaccines for their kids, compared with 13% of Republican parents in 2023.
Reality check: There's still broad support for public school vaccine requirements that allow for religious and health exceptions: 83% of the public overall agree with such requirements, and three-quarters of Republicans do, too.
