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News Release |
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Poll: Most Americans Say President Trump is Intervening with the
FDA's and CDC's Coronavirus Work, But Trust the Agencies at Least a Fair
Amount to Do the Right Thing Two-Thirds
of the Public Worries They or Someone in Their Family Will Get Sick from
Coronavirus, up 13 Percentage Points Since April As
COVID-19 cases rise across much of the country, most Americans think that the
president is intervening with the public health agencies working to address
the pandemic, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. Similar
majorities say both that President Trump is intervening with the Food and
Drug Administration’s efforts to review and approve a coronavirus vaccine
(55%) and that he is in intervening with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s efforts to issue coronavirus guidelines and recommendations
(54%). In each case, most
of those who believe President Trump is intervening say it is a bad
thing.
There
are partisan differences. Most Republicans say the president is not
intervening, while most Democrats think President Trump is intervening, and
that it is a bad thing. Majorities
are also at least somewhat worried that political pressure from the White
House will lead the FDA to rush to approve a vaccine without making sure it
is safe and effective (62%). In
spite of these concerns, large majorities of the public have at least a fair
amount of trust both in the FDA to ensure any vaccine is safe and effective
(71%) and in the CDC to provide guidelines and recommendations based on
scientific evidence (72%). In each case, majorities across party lines trust
the agencies, though Democrats are more likely than Republicans to trust the
CDC “a great deal.” The
poll also finds two thirds (66%) of the public are now worried that they or
someone in their family will get sick from COVID-19, up 13 percentage points
from April when slightly more than half (53%) were worried. Women are more
likely than men (73% v. 58%) to worry about the risk. Among partisans, twice
as many Democrats as Republicans (87% v. 42%) worry about this risk. The
poll also gauges the impact of President Trump’s recent COVID-19 diagnosis
and treatment on the public’s willingness to engage in preventive measures. About
3 in 10 say it has made them more likely both to practice social distancing
(31%) and wear face masks (31%). About twice as many Democrats as Republicans
say President Trump’s diagnosis makes the more likely to practice social
distancing (44% vs. 20%) and wear face masks (40% vs. 20%). “At
a time when President Trump is aggressively downplaying the pandemic,
his diagnosis and hospitalization appear to have had the opposite effect,
scaring some Americans, including Republicans, to take more precautions such
as wearing masks,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said. About
4 in 10 adults (42%) think the worst of the coronavirus outbreak is yet to
come, while a third say the worst is behind us (33%), and one in five don’t
think it is a major problem. The share who say the worst is yet to come
remains well below its peak in July (60%). Designed
and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF, the poll was conducted
from Oct. 7-12 among a nationally representative random digit dial telephone
sample of 1,207 adults. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by
landline (290) and cell phone (917). 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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