Overall, the poll found that only 52% of Americans have a great deal of trust in CDC. Other health agencies were even lower — only 37% of Americans said they had a lot of trust in the NIH or the FDA. "We're in a period of distrust of government in general," … Trust in public health during a pandemic is incredibly high stakes. Public health measures — like mask wearing and business restrictions — can't work as intended to contain a pandemic if the community doesn't believe they're based on reliable information.