Keller @ Large: Mass. Residents Trust Doctors Most On COVID Vaccine
BOSTON (CBS) - "People should get their information from trusted sources like Mass.gov or your health care provider," said Gov. Charlie Baker as he unveiled the first details of the state's coronavirus vaccination plan.
But what sources of vaccine guidance do Massachusetts residents really trust?
Topping the list in a new statewide poll by the MassInc Polling Group:
- Your personal doctor, completely or mostly trusted by 80 percent of us;
- Federal and state health care agencies and institutions also score well;
- And Dr. Anthony Fauci is completely or mostly trusted by more than six in 10 respondents.
But the politicians are a different story.
- More than a quarter of us told the pollsters they didn't trust local elected leaders' vaccine guidance;
- Nearly four in 10 expressed mistrust of local religious leaders;
- And 62 percent said they don't trust the president on this at all.
President-elect Biden fares better, with 48 percent saying they completely or mostly trust him. And Gov. Baker is also trusted by half of us, with another 25 percent saying they trust him a little. But the numbers send a clear signal:
Former Presidents Bush, Clinton and Obama volunteering to get an early vaccination to build public confidence is a nice gesture, but the push toward the 70-plus percent inoculation needed to stop the spread needs to be led by doctors and other public health professionals, with the pols and the pastors cheering them on.
One final note from the poll: "friends, family and neighbors" were completely or mostly trusted by a mere 21 percent, a promising sign given the never-ending sewer of misinformation about the virus and vaccines social media has become.
