Poll: Trust in Government Nosedived Among Unvaccinated in 2021

Unvaccinated Americans' trust in the federal government to provide accurate information about COVID-19 plunged in 2021, according to a new poll from Axios and market research firm Ipsos released Thursday.

The poll, which surveyed Americans from January to June and again from July to December, found that unvaccinated citizens reported having the lowest levels of trust in government, and that trust among vaccinated Americans fell slightly over the past year as well. 

The survey findings included:

• 22% of unvaccinated Americans trust the government as of December.
• 43% of unvaccinated Americans trusted the government last June.
• 67% of vaccinated Americans trust the government as of December.
• 60% of vaccinated Americans trusted the government last June.

Trust in government among African Americans slightly dropped, too, while trust among Hispanic Americans and white Americans remained about the same, though a small portion of white Americans who are vaccinated did lose trust in government.

The survey results:

• 59% of Black Americans trust the government as of December.
• 63% of Black Americans trusted the government in July.
• 39% of unvaccinated Black Americans trust the government as of December.
• 55% of unvaccinated Black Americans trusted the government in July.

"As Omicron spreads through the country, the groups that are going to be hit the hardest are going to be these white, unvaccinated populations who have essentially stopped taking precautions and have returned to their ordinary lives," Ipsos pollster and Senior Vice President Chris Jackson said in a statement released by Axios.

"They're likely to see the most elevated new cases and potentially the most elevated numbers of fatalities,” Jackson added. "The people who remain unvaccinated have almost no trust in the government. It doesn't really matter what Biden says. They don't believe anything you're saying."

Ipsos surveyed a sample of 14,566 adults in the U.S. from Jan. 8-June 28 and a sample of 11,431 U.S. adults from July 16-Dec. 13, with a margin of error for both samples of +/- 2 percentage points.

• Poll: Over 40 Percent Say Democrats Accomplished Less Than Expected
• ABC Poll: Biden's First Year Ending in Widespread US Disapproval