May 21, 2020 - Science

The partisan divide of trust in scientists

Reproduced from Pew Research Center; Chart: Axios Visuals

Overall trust in scientists has grown in the U.S. over the past year, but that is driven by a partisan gap, according to a Pew Research Center survey released today.

By the numbers: 53% of Democrats polled in late April reported a "great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the public interests," compared to 37% in 2019.

  • The percentage of Republicans who said the same held steady from last year (32%) to this year (31%).

What they're saying: When asked to rate how well medical experts understand who is most at risk for serious illness from the coronavirus, about one-third of respondents said experts understand the issue very well and 52% said fairly well.

  • 23% of people in the survey said public health experts understand very well how to control the spread of the virus.
  • More Democrats gave a high rating to experts than Republicans, especially when it came to the question of social distancing: 31% of Democrats vs. 15% of Republicans.

Go deeper

Rashaan Ayesh
Aug 26, 2020 - Health

Fauci says he was having surgery when CDC testing changes were approved

Anthony Fauci was in the operating room under general anesthesia last Thursday when the White House coronavirus task force approved the narrowing of CDC testing recommendations to exclude asymptomatic individuals, according to CNN's Sanjay Gupta.

Why it matters: Fauci, who had vocal cord surgery last week, told Gupta that he is "concerned about the interpretation of these recommendations and worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact, it is."

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
31 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Virtual Emmys address chaotic year for American TV and society

Emmy Host Jimmy Kimmel during rehearsals Friday for the 72nd Annual Emmy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Photo: Al Seib/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The Emmy Awards Sunday night addressed the major U.S. issues this year — including the protests on systemic racism and police brutality, the wildfires engulfing parts of the West Coast, the census, the pandemic, essential works and the election.

Why it matters: Award shows have always addressed wider cultural issues, but this year — amid unprecedented stress and uncertainty — that trend has accelerated.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 46 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 p.m. ET: 30,919,638 — Total deaths: 959,332— Total recoveries: 21,152,996 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30p.m. ET: 6,799,141 — Total deaths: 199,474 — Total recoveries: 2,590,671 — Total tests: 95,108,559 — Map.
  3. Politics: Testing czar on Trump's CDC contradictions: "Everybody is right" — Ex-FDA chief: Career scientists won't be "easily cowed" by political vaccine pressure.
  4. Education: What we overlooked in the switch to remote learning.
  5. Health: The dwindling chances of eliminating COVID-19 — 7 states set single-day coronavirus case records last week.
  6. World: England sets £10,000 fine for breaking self-isolation rules — The countries painting their pandemic recoveries green.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow