Survey says more Americans trust Biden to manage COVID-19 pandemic

The majority of American trust former Vice President Joe Biden than President Donald Trump to efficiently lead the United States healthcare system through the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to a new survey conducted in partnership between West Health and Gallup. A 52 percent majority said they trust Biden while 39 percent said they trust Trump, the survey found.

The findings are based on a large, nationally representative sample of more than 1,500 U.S. adults in the two days immediately following the September 29 presidential debate, according to the survey. The sample consisted primarily of debate viewers, though some non-viewers participated as well.

While managing the COVID-19 pandemic remains a top issue at the ballot box for 67 percent of respondents heading into the presidential election, about the same proportion of Americans, 66 percent, said lowering the cost of healthcare is important to earn their vote, according to the survey. Another 45 percent said a candidate's ability to lower drug costs specifically, is most or among the most important to them, the survey said.

Beyond the pandemic and healthcare costs, 54 percent of Americans said they trust Biden more to ensure racial equality in terms of access to quality healthcare compared to 38 percent for Trump. White adults were evenly split, 46 percent to 45 percent, on the candidates, Black adults were nearly 10 times more likely to trust Biden over Trump at 84 percent versus 9 percent and Hispanic adults were twice as likely at 60 percent to 31 percent.

Click here to read the full results and methodology statement.

Editor's note: Click here for more information and ongoing COVID-19 updates for integrative healthcare professionals.