Trust in government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has eroded in recent months, according to a poll from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.
Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC, told Cheddar the drop stems from the politicization of public health during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Repeatedly during this crisis, we've seen instances where the political sector has reached in and changed public health guidance from CDC," he said. "That is a real problem."
Indeed, House Democrats are currently investigating whether the Trump administration pressured CDC officials to alter or delay information on the coronavirus.
Besser said one challenge for the CDC is that it doesn't often speak with the public directly.
"There's incredibly important information coming out from the CDC every single day," he said. "Unfortunately the CDC is not in a position where they're talking to the public through the media every day to be able to lift up that information."
Once that information is politically influenced, he added, "then people have to pick and choose and say 'well is this a guidance that's science-based, or is this one that's politically based?'"
Bessner described trust as one of the CDC's most important tools because early on in a crisis the agency depends on people following the advice of experts despite considerable uncertainty.
Environmental Protection Agency Head Michael Regan made a stop in East Palestine, Ohio, to speak with residents who continue to raise concerns about the health and safety of their town.
A new study predicts that rising energy costs that have followed in the wake of Russia's war with Ukraine could push millions of people around the globe into extreme poverty.
Five former Memphis police officers pleaded not guilty Friday to second-degree murder and other charges in the violent arrest and death of Tyre Nichols,
A special grand jury that investigated efforts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his election loss in Georgia says it believes some witnesses committed perjury, and it recommends that prosecutors seek charges.
China said Wednesday it will take measures against U.S. entities related to the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the American East Coast.
A U.S. general says Russia has operationally lost the war in Ukraine, a court says federal workers are not owed COVID-19 hazard pay, and Microsoft officially shuts down Internet Explorer. Here is everything you Need2Know for Wednesday, February 15, 2023.
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a new program under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that aims to expand the infrastructure needed to keep electric vehicles charged.
