Challenges for Rebuilding Trust in the CDC
(Secretary Kennedy) has promised to restore public trust in the CDC, but our polling data suggests real challenges given how skeptical the public - and Republicans in particular - are about the agency.
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
KFF’s policy research provides facts and analysis on a wide range of policy issues and public programs.
KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the organization’s core operating programs.
Health Policy 101 is a comprehensive guide covering fundamental aspects of U.S. health policy and programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured population, health care costs and affordability, women's health issues, and health care politics. The Public Health chapter examines how public health is governed and delivered in the United States. It includes explanations of key public health frameworks, services, capabilities and characteristics, how the public health system works in state, local and territorial governments, and public health funding, workforce, and communication challenges in an era of declining trust.
(Secretary Kennedy) has promised to restore public trust in the CDC, but our polling data suggests real challenges given how skeptical the public - and Republicans in particular - are about the agency.
This issue brief provides an update on the latest trends in kindergarten children's routine vaccination and exemption rates. Over three-quarters (39) of states had measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)vaccination rates below the “target” rate of 95% for the 2024-2025 school year.
As federal vaccine policy changes, this poll finds that most adults do not expect to get a COVID-19 vaccine this fall , and many parents are confused and uncertain about whether the vaccine is recommended for healthy children this year. About one in five adults nationally say the changes to vaccine policy are making people safer, while more than a third say they are making people less safe.
As federal vaccine policy changes, most (59%) adults do not expect to get a COVID-19 vaccine this fall, while four in 10 (40%) say that they will “definitely” or “probably” get the shot, a new KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust finds.
This policy watch post examines the United States’ measles elimination status, including what it means to eliminate measles, whether the current measles outbreak could threaten the country’s measles elimination status, and what losing that status might mean for measles control.
This volume shares findings from KFF’s latest poll on how the public encountered information about the recently passed tax and budget legislation; misleading narratives blaming undocumented immigrants for the current measles outbreak; misrepresentations of vaccine safety systems; claims that climate change isn’t real following deadly Texas flooding; and confusion around statins for preventing heart disease.
This issue brief gives an overview of the main systems used by the federal government to track vaccine safety and adverse events following vaccinations. The brief reviews the history of federal vaccine safety systems, describes the key systems and their strengths and limitations, and also discusses how vaccine safety issues have become the subject of more scrutiny under the Trump administration.
This volume examines how the cancellation of contracts to develop a bird flu vaccine and unfounded claims by new vaccine advisors reflect persistent myths about the safety of mRNA technology. It also explores false claims linking COVID-19 vaccines to miscarriage and analyzes how reactions to a Supreme Court ruling on gender-affirming care for minors highlights misconceptions and inflammatory language.
In this research article released online by The Journal of Health Policy, Politics and Law, KFF's Elizabeth Hamel, Alex Montero and Mollyann Brodie reflect on 30 years of public opinion data to offer perspectives on how the public accesses, evaluates, and uses health information, and what recent trends may suggest about the future of the…
This brief provides an overview of vaccine coverage requirements by payer or program, as they relate to ACIP and the CDC.
© 2025 KFF
