Trust in America: In the age of COVID-19, do Americans trust science?
Public confidence in scientists has increased during the pandemic, though not among all Americans. We discuss the impact of trust on views of COVID-19 vaccines.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Public confidence in scientists has increased during the pandemic, though not among all Americans. We discuss the impact of trust on views of COVID-19 vaccines.
Trust in scientists and medical scientists has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, with 29% of U.S. adults saying they have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the best interests of the public. This is down from 40% in November 2020 and 35% in January 2019, before COVID-19 emerged. Other prominent groups – including the military, police officers and public school principals – have also seen their ratings decline.
Still about two-in-ten U.S. adults are “pretty certain” they won’t get the vaccine – even when there’s more information.
Black Americans stand out from other racial and ethnic groups in their attitudes toward key health care questions associated with the pandemic.
Majorities of Americans say the federal government, businesses and other actors are doing too little to reduce the effects of climate change.
In 2019, 74% of Americans said they had a mostly positive view of doctors; 68% had a mostly favorable view of medical research scientists.
Here is a roundup of key takeaways from our studies of U.S. public opinion about science issues and their effect on society.
One-in-ten U.S. adults say they have taken part in citizen science in the past year, and 26% say they have ever done so.
Americans have broadly positive views of scientists and their work but are more tepid when it comes to trusting their competence, credibility and concern for the public interest.
America’s confidence in the scientific community appears to be relatively strong. But the degree of public trust in scientists across climate, food and medical issues varies, and many express moderate rather than strongly positive views.
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