65% of Americans Trust Dr. Fauci on the Pandemic: New Poll Finds
Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images
A new poll out Friday from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center found that trust in coronavirus information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has eroded in recent months – but remains high.
The survey found that the political leaning of media sources played a major role in respondents’ trust in Fauci and the CDC.
The survey found that overall 65 percent of respondents had confidence in Fauci, down from 71 percent in April of 2020, while 35 percent did not.
However, when broken down by media consumption the numbers varied widely.
The poll notes that among consumers of “conservative media such as Fox News, Mark Levin, or Breitbart: 39% have confidence in Fauci, 52% in the CDC, 60% in the FDA, and 88% in their primary health care provider.”
The survey also notes among “very conservative sources such as Newsmax, One America News (OAN), Gateway Pundit, Parler, or Telegram: 46% have confidence in Fauci, 54% in the CDC, 60% in the FDA, and 78% in their primary health care provider.”
46% of Newsmax and OAN viewers having confidence in Fauci is a notable result as both networks regularly attack Fauci and have been critical of Covid-19 restrictions.
The summary of the poll noted the difference between conservative and very conservative media, saying, “Fauci has been the target of attacks in conservative media outlets for many months and as noted in our November survey release, on one night in November, a Fox News viewer would have seen Fauci likened to the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele and the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.”
“85% have confidence in Fauci, 89% in the CDC, 90% in the FDA, and 95% in their primary health care providers” among respondents that consume “mainstream media” like “CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, the Associated Press, or the news pages of The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times.”
Additionally, attitudes varied based on partisan affiliations.
89 percent of Democrats have trust in the CDC, down 94 percent in April 2021. Confidence in Fauci among Democrats fell from 92 percent to 88 percent in the same time period.
Among Republicans, only 50 percent of respondents have confidence in the CDC, down from 57 percent in April of 2020. Meanwhile, 36 percent of Republicans trust Fauci, down from 47 percent in April of 2020.
The poll of 1,656 adults was conducted between January 11 and 17 and has a 3.3 percent margin of error.
