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Americans apparently trust healthcare professionals more than FDA, CDC

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doctors healthcare professionals CDC FDA

[Image from Pixabay]

As the U.S. tries to reach a post-COVID-19 pandemic “normal,” Americans are placing more trust in nurses and doctors than agencies such as the CDC and FDA, according to a new survey from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The survey — conducted Feb. 11 – March 15, 2021 among a nationally representative, probability-based sample of 1,305 adults — included the following results:

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health CDC FDA trust public health

[Graph courtesy of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health]

The results matter because agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration are supposed to provide an important role in advising people about how to respond to COVID-19 and other public health emergencies. The CDC made waves over the past week when it recommended that fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to wear masks or physically distance themselves from others.

The survey, according to the report’s authors, shows Americans have higher trust in healthcare professionals than public health institutions and agencies. Public health agencies received mixed job ratings, and a large minority of the public does not trust health information from state and local public health departments.

Seven in 10 of the survey respondents wanted substantial increases in federal public health spending.

About The Author

Chris Newmarker

Chris Newmarker is the executive editor of WTWH Media life science's news websites and publications including MassDevice, Medical Design & Outsourcing and more. A professional journalist of 18 years, he is a veteran of UBM (now Informa) and The Associated Press whose career has taken him from Ohio to Virginia, New Jersey and, most recently, Minnesota. He’s covered a wide variety of subjects, but his focus over the past decade has been business and technology. He holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science from Ohio State University. Connect with him on LinkedIn or email at cnewmarker@wtwhmedia.com.

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