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Poll: Most Americans Worry Political Pressure Will Lead to Premature
Approval of a COVID-19 Vaccine; Half Say They Would Not Get a Free Vaccine
Approved Before Election Day The Public
is Losing Confidence in Coronavirus Information from the CDC; Republicans Are
Less Likely to Trust Dr. Fauci, while Democrats Are Less Likely to Trust Dr.
Birx Republican
and Independent Voters See the Economy as Their Top Issue; Coronavirus and
Race Relations Top Democrats’ List Most
Americans (62%) worry that the political pressure from the Trump
administration will lead the Food and Drug Administration to rush to approve
a coronavirus vaccine without making sure that it is safe and effective, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. This includes
majorities of Democrats (85%) and independents (61%), as well as a third of
Republicans (35%). In
addition, about four in ten say that the FDA (39%) and the CDC (42%) are
paying “too much attention” to politics when it comes to reviewing and
approving treatments for coronavirus or issuing guidelines and
recommendations. The
poll comes as President Trump and others working in his administration and
for his reelection campaign have suggested a vaccine could be ready in the
coming months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently asked
states to be ready to distribute a vaccine by November 1, just two days
before the 2020 elections. Most
Americans (81%) – including majorities of Democrats, independents, and
Republicans– say they do not believe a vaccine will be widely available
before the presidential election. If
a vaccine was approved before Election Day and made freely available to
anyone who wanted it, about half (54%) say they would not want to
get vaccinated, while 4 in 10 (42%) say they would want to get vaccinated.
Most independents (56%) and Republicans (60%) say they would not
get the vaccine, while half of Democrats (50%) say they would. “Public
skepticism about the FDA and the process of approving a vaccine is eroding
public confidence even before a vaccine gets to the starting gate,” KFF
President and CEO Drew Altman said.
The poll also captures a drop in
the public’s trust of the nation’s public health institutions and officials
to provide reliable information about coronavirus, particularly among
Republicans. Overall,
about two in three adults say they have at least a “fair amount” of trust in
Dr. Anthony Fauci (68%), the director of the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, and in the CDC (67%). About half (53%) say they
trust Dr. Deborah Birx, the Coronavirus Response Coordinator for the White
House Coronavirus Task Force. Half say they trust Democratic presidential
nominee Joe Biden (52%), while four in ten say the same about President Trump
(40%). The
share of adults who say they trust the CDC has fallen by 16 percentage points
since April, with the biggest dip occurring among Republicans (60% now, down
from 90% in April). The
share who say they trust Dr. Fauci has declined by 10 percentage points since
April overall, driven by a 29 percentage points drop off among Republicans
(48% now, down from 77% in April), as President Trump publicly disagreed with
some of his public health advice. In contrast, Dr. Birx retains a high level
of trust among Republicans (70%), but lower levels of trust among Democrats
(44%). Most
of the public is aware about key facts about coronavirus, though nearly half
(48%) hold at least one of six misconceptions asked about, including a
notable 20% who incorrectly say wearing a face mask poses a health risk, and
16% who incorrectly say masks do not help reduce coronavirus’ spread. “Politicizing
basic facts like whether a mask can prevent coronavirus’ spread creates an
environment where misinformation is easily shared and believed,” said
Mollyann Brodie, executive director of KFF’s public opinion and survey
research. Six
months into the pandemic, the public’s views about it are shifting in a more
optimistic direction:
Partisan
Divide on the Issues Voters See as Most Important in November Two
months before Election Day, the poll shows a sharp partisan divide in the
issues that matter for the election. The
economy is overwhelmingly the top issue for Republican voters, with more than
half (53%) choosing it as the most important issue, with criminal justice and
policing second (23%). The economy is also the top issue for independent
voters (29%), followed by criminal justice and policing (20%) and the
coronavirus outbreak (19%). In
contrast, a third of Democratic voters (36%) say the coronavirus outbreak is
their top issue, followed by race relations (27%). Outside of coronavirus,
health care and the economy tie for third on Democrats’ list (14% each).
“Democrats
and Republicans are having two different elections. For Democrats, it’s about
Covid and race. For Republicans it’s the economy and violence,” Altman said.
“And health care has slipped down the issue list for everyone.” Across
all voters, the economy is the top issue (32%), followed by coronavirus
(20%), criminal justice and policing (16%), and race relations (14%). Health
care had been a top issue during the primary season but outside of
coronavirus, health care now ranks fifth (10%). “Swing
voters” – the crucial group (24% of all voters) who haven’t completely made
up their minds yet – rank the issues similarly, with the economy at the top
(35% of swing voters), followed by criminal justice and policing (17%),
coronavirus (15%), race relations (14%), and health care (11%). The
shift in voters’ mix of issues likely reflects recent events, including
police shootings of unarmed Black Americans and subsequent protests and
counter-protests, some of which resulted in violence and have been a recent
major theme of President Trump’s reelection campaign. The
share of voters who say that violence caused by protestors is a “big problem”
in the country is up 15 percentage points since June, now at 52%. This is slightly
smaller than the share of voters who say racism is a “big problem” (58%)
while fewer (43%) say police violence against the public is a big problem. This
increase is largely driven by Republican and independent voters, with most
Republican voters (81%) and half of independents (52%) saying violence by
protestors is a big problem, compared to a quarter (25%) of Democrats. In
contrast, most Democratic voters (67%) say that police violence is a big
problem, while only a minority of Republicans (20%) and four in ten
independents (39%) agree. Designed
and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF, the poll was conducted
from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 among a nationally representative random digit dial
telephone sample of 1,199 adults. Interviews were conducted in English and
Spanish by landline (295) and cell phone (904). The margin of sampling error
is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample. For results based
on subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher. Filling
the need for trusted information on national health issues, KFF
(Kaiser Family Foundation) is a nonprofit organization based in San
Francisco, California. |
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