Public distrust of government and other institutions includes vaccines, which once had the confidence of nearly two-thirds of Americans.
The move away from vaccines is most pronounced among Republicans, reflecting a decline that grew during the Covid pandemic.
The number of parents who have their children vaccinated is dropping.
An estimated 25 percent of Republican parents say they have skipped or postponed some childhood vaccines, according to a poll by KFF, a non-profit organization. KFF is an independent source of information for policymakers, the media, and the public on health-related issues.
The decline is due to several factors, including politics, concern about safety, and statements by President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Safety.
Here are some highlights of the KFF survey, which was conducted Jan. 7-14, 2025, online and by telephone. It polled a nationally representative sample of 1,310 U.S. adults in English and in Spanish. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample:
- Some 53 percent trust the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make the right recommendations on health issues at least “a fair amount.” That’s a sharp drop from the 65 percent in June 2023.
- While 64 percent of respondents in 2023 said they trusted their state and local health officials, the number this year fell to 54 percent.
Red vs blue
- Republicans were significantly less trustful of health institutions and more confident in the medical advice of Trump and Kennedy.
This was at odds with the overall results. When it comes to giving the correct advice on health issues, only 42 percent of the public overall trust President Trump and 43 percent trust Kennedy. Republicans, however, said they trusted Trump (84 percent) and Kennedy (81 percent).
- Physicians are losing their patients’ trust, too. The share who say they trust their own doctors’ health recommendations “a great deal” or “a fair amount” is down from 93 percent in 2023 to 85 percent now, “mostly due to declining trust among independents and Republicans,” KFF said.
Children
Vaccines for children retained strong public support but there has been erosion in that area, especially among Republicans and parents.
- Some 82 percent of parents of children under age 18 now say they normally keep their child up to date with recommended childhood vaccines such as the one for measles, mumps, and rubella. That’s a decline of 8 percentage points from 2023.
- About 17 percent now delay or skip some shots, up from 10 percent in 2023.
- The shift is especially common among Republicans; 26 percent reported skipping or delaying some vaccines for their children. That’s double the 13 percent in 2023.
You can see all the details of the study by going to https://www.kff.org/health-information-and-trust/poll-finding/kff-tracking-poll-on-health-information-and-trust-january-2025
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