RFK, Jr., Oz or Fauci: Who do Americans trust?

Hint: It isn’t a current employee of the federal government.

But Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, polled higher than both Oz and Kennedy. Just over half, or 54%, of respondents said they were confident he had provided trustworthy information during his tenure.

I think that’s lower than it should be, but it is much higher than I expected after years of Republicans from the highest levels of government downward equating Satan with him.

By comparison:

• Mehmet Oz, MD, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services – 42%
• Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services – 32%

LOL.

There’s also good news for health care providers, particularly primary care providers.

A strong majority of Americans have confidence that their own primary health care provider is providing trustworthy information about matters concerning public health. The survey shows that 86% are confident that their doctor, nurse, or other primary health care provider is providing trustworthy information. Confidence in one’s own health care provider remains the highest of all measured items, including U.S. agencies, their leaders, and career scientists, and is significantly higher than confidence in the major professional health organizations (AMA, AHA, and AAP).

Providers were already under a great deal of stress and had identified medical misinformation as a key challenge before Bobby Blue Jeans shambled into HHS.

Other people and organizations respondents trust more than Junior:

• Career scientists who work for federal agencies.
• Federal agencies.
• Health care associations and organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Here is the survey’s topline. And for readers who are into the hard stuff, the methodology report. Remember to pace yourselves.

People who post off-topic comments wish they were workout buddies with RF Deathpimp and Kid Rock.