Science and Innovation

There are widely held concerns about the safety and effectiveness of a possible vaccine and the pace of the approval process.

There’s a 14-point gap between the shares of White and Black adults in the U.S. who say they have a great deal of confidence in scientists.

44% of Americans have a great deal of confidence in the scientific community, while 47% have only some confidence and 7% have hardly any.

As the debate resurfaces over drilling in the wildlife refuge, here are some facts about Americans’ views of expanded oil and gas drilling.

70% of Americans say the core strategies for containing COVID-19 are well understood, even though studies have yielded conflicting advice.

Some 63% of Americans say climate change is currently affecting their local community either a great deal or some.

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.

Republicans ages 18 to 39 are more likely than their GOP elders to think humans have a large role in climate change.

There is bipartisan support for several proposals to reduce the effects of climate change, especially for large scale tree-plantings to help absorb carbon emissions and offering tax credits to businesses that capture carbon emissions.

Black Americans stand out from other racial and ethnic groups in their attitudes toward key health care questions associated with the pandemic.