Vaccines

This volume examines findings about trusted sources of vaccine information from the latest KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust. It also explores how the misrepresentation of studies and policy developments contribute to health narratives around vaccines, HIV and PrEP. Lastly, it summarizes new research on the use of generative AI to counteract vaccine misinformation.

In his latest column, KFF’s President and CEO Drew Altman discusses how the low levels of trust in the CDC and FDA today seen in KFF’s recent survey findings present a danger should the country face another epidemic.

As the Trump administration overhauls government health agencies, partisan trust in these agencies on vaccines has shifted and few express confidence in their ability to carry out key tasks. Most adults are confident in the safety of routine vaccines, but the COVID-19 vaccines remain polarizing with many uncertain about false claims regarding mRNA technology.

Five years after the start of  COVID-19 pandemic and the communications challenges, divisions, and false claims that followed, less than half of the public say they have at least some confidence in the federal government’s health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and…

This Monitor highlights April KFF Tracking Poll findings on perceptions about measles and explores the unsubstantiated promotion of budesonide and clarithromycin as treatments. It also covers misrepresentations of syringe programs and how prompting strategies can boost the accuracy of AI chatbots on health questions.

With health officials reporting 800 measles cases in multiple states already this year, most of the public – and most parents – report hearing at least one false claim about measles or the vaccine for it, and many of them aren’t sure what to believe, the latest KFF Tracking Poll…

This poll looks at awareness and concern over the outbreak of measles in the U.S. and finds that a growing share of adults is encountering false claims about the measles vaccines, but many are uncertain whether these claims are true or false. Parents who lean toward believing the false claims are less likely to say they keep their children up to date on routine vaccinations.

Funding from CDC has been a major source of support for public health programs across the U.S., but CDC is now being targeted for budget cuts by the Trump administration. To better understand how much CDC funding is provided to state and local jurisdictions, we analyzed FY 2023 funding data from CDC and present findings about much funding was provided to state and local jurisdictions, what types of public health activities were supported with this funding, and how the funding was distributed across states and regions of the U.S.

In his latest column, KFF President and CEO Drew Altman examines the implications of Secretary Kennedy’s reorganization of HHS and why it’s a sharp break from past efforts to reorganize the department.

This volume examines beliefs about bird flu and the false promotion of vitamin A as a measles prevention. It also covers social media content moderation and the misrepresentation of a study on gender-affirming care. Lastly, it explores when people prefer AI chatbots over humans for health information.