President Trump has lately introduced the nomination of Dr. Susan Monarez as director of the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC). If confirmed, Dr. Monarez – who has been serving because the performing director of the CDC – might be main the company at a time when public belief within the CDC is at a low point and when the nation is dealing with the general public well being challenges of measles circumstances in a number of states and the continued menace of fowl flu.
In early 2020, at first of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been excessive ranges of public belief within the CDC to supply dependable details about the illness. Over the course of the pandemic, KFF tracking polls discovered declining belief within the company, particularly amongst Republicans. The January 2025 KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust discovered that about 4 in ten adults now specific little to no belief within the CDC to make the suitable suggestions on well being – and there’s a massive partisan divide. On the similar time, our polling has additionally discovered an increase in skepticism in direction of childhood MMR vaccines amongst mother and father, with one in 4 now saying the dangers of MMR vaccines outweigh the advantages, rising to one-third amongst Republican-leaning mother and father.
These traits of declining belief within the CDC and in the advantages of childhood vaccinations might complicate any efforts to handle rising public well being challenges like the continued measles outbreak and the continued menace of fowl flu. In January, KFF polling discovered that about three in ten adults say they’ve little or no belief within the CDC to make suggestions concerning the childhood vaccine schedules. Equally, the latest KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust discovered about 4 in ten adults say they’ve little to no belief within the CDC to supply dependable details about fowl flu.
Dr. Monarez has been serving as performing director of the CDC since January and her nomination alerts a vote of confidence from President Trump. There have additionally been reports that Dr. Monarez has labored successfully with Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Whereas Dr. Monarez might have the belief and confidence of President Trump, it stays to be seen whether or not she’s going to have the ability to restore belief and confidence within the CDC amongst Republicans extra broadly.
