Public trust in Anthony Fauci and the nation’s federal health officials is high more than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll.
A survey released this week by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania found 76 percent of respondents said they were “somewhat or very confident” in the veracity of information about the coronavirus coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its leaders.
At the same time, 68 percent said they believed Fauci, a member of former President Trump’s coronavirus task force and a top adviser to President Biden on the pandemic, has provided trustworthy advice.
A total of 77 percent also expressed confidence in the information being put forth by the Food and Drug Administration about vaccines and vaccine science.
The poll, first reported by The New York Times, found the highest level of confidence among respondents in personal primary care doctors, with 83 percent saying they trust them most to help them navigate the pandemic.
Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease doctor, has been the subject of attacks from Republicans on Capitol Hill and in conservative media since the pandemic began over lockdown measures, mask mandates and the virus’s origins.
On Tuesday, he offered a scathing rebuke to a line of questioning during a hearing from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who was raising concerns about the National Institutes of Health playing a role in funding controversial research in Wuhan, China.
“Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, and I want to say that officially,” Fauci said.
The poll was conducted June 2-22 among 1,719 adults and has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.