As bird flu continues to circulate among animals in the U.S. with some human cases, about six in 10 (58%) people overall have at least “a fair amount” of trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide reliable information about bird flu, though only 21% have a “great deal of trust,” the latest KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust finds.
As the White House withdraws the nomination of Dr. David Weldon to lead the CDC, Republican trust in the agency is low, with about six in 10 (58%) Republicans saying they have little to no trust in the CDC to provide reliable information on bird flu. Most Democrats (72%) and independents (61%) have at least a fair amount of trust in the CDC to provide reliable information on bird flu.
The poll also finds that many people are unaware or unsure about current public health recommendations for preventing the spread of bird flu. For instance, about 4 in 10 adults (39%) are aware that public health officials recommend avoiding raw or unpasteurized milk as a precaution against bird flu, while most either are unsure (50%) or incorrectly say that officials do not recommend avoiding raw milk (11%).
A larger share of Democrats (47%) compared with independents (38%) and Republicans (34%) are aware that public health officials recommend avoiding raw milk. At least half of independents (52%) and Republicans (55%) say they are not sure if this is recommended. However, few across partisans say avoiding unpasteurized milk is not recommended.
Amid concerns about egg prices and inflation more broadly, the poll finds nearly nine in 10 adults (86%) are concerned that bird flu will increase the cost of food. Fewer, but still around half (51%), are concerned that bird flu will be the next pandemic in the U.S. or will negatively affect their family’s health (50%). Democrats are almost twice as likely as Republicans to worry that bird flu will be the next pandemic (68% and 36%, respectively) or that it will negatively affect their family’s health (64% and 36%, respectively).
The poll is part of KFF’s Health Information and Trust Initiative, which is aimed at tracking health misinformation in the U.S, analyzing its impact on the American people, and mobilizing media to address the problem.
Designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF, this survey was conducted Feb. 18-25, 2025, online and by telephone among a nationally representative sample of 1,322 U.S. adults in English and in Spanish. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the full sample. For results based on other subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher.
