Trust in science falls as Covid-era confidence fades, global survey finds

The Covid-era surge in public trust in science has largely faded, with the steepest drop among people struggling financially, according to one of the largest global surveys of attitudes toward science.

Across countries surveyed before, during and after the pandemic, 72% of people expressed at least some trust in science in 2025, down from 80% in 2020 and 77% in 2018. Strong trust in scientists also dropped below its pre-pandemic level, according to the Wellcome Global Monitor, which surveyed more than 140,000 adults worldwide.

The retreat has potentially far-reaching consequences for public health as vaccination rates decline and preventable diseases resurge.

The US is experiencing its worst measles outbreak in three decades, with almost 3,900 cases this year, while childhood vaccination rates have fallen below levels needed to prevent outbreaks in many communities.

The findings come as misinformation and conspiracy theories complicate responses to health threats, and scientific institutions in some countries face growing political and funding pressures.

The survey does not establish what caused the decline, though the politicisation of science during the pandemic probably contributed, said John-Arne Røttingen, chief executive officer of Wellcome, a London-based health research foundation. Vaccines, masks and public-health measures became politically contested, he said.

“Politics has made some of science more political and that has led to the polarisation and maybe a lack of trust,” Røttingen said in an interview from Berlin.

The decline was particularly pronounced among people experiencing financial hardship. In 2025, 39% of those who said they were living comfortably reported a lot of trust in science, compared with 20% among those who find it difficult to get by.

That divide has widened since the pandemic.

Strong trust fell 16 percentage points among those struggling financially between 2020 and 2025, compared with 10 points among those living comfortably. Countries with greater economic inequality also tended to have lower trust in science, as did places where people had less confidence in public institutions or perceived greater corruption.

People struggling financially may see science as part of a broader system that is not working for them, Røttingen said. “Science is seen as one of those institutions that are not delivering,” he said.

Scientists also need to do a better job of reaching such communities, he said. “We haven’t been good enough at explaining and engaging with those groups and those communities on how science is benefiting them.”

Experiences with healthcare were also closely associated with trust. While 26% globally said they had a lot of trust in science, that rose to 43% among people with a lot of confidence in their country’s hospitals and health clinics.

The survey, produced by Wellcome with Gallup and Ipsos, points to a connection between trust and vaccinations. When respondents were asked what they do when a doctor or nurse recommends a vaccine, 34% said they wanted it immediately, 48% preferred to think about it and 15% said they did not get vaccines at all.

Those who wanted a recommended vaccine immediately were twice as likely to express a lot of trust in science as those who did not vaccinate – 36% versus 18% – though Wellcome cautioned that other factors also shape vaccine decisions.

Falling vaccination coverage shows how mistrust can have consequences beyond the individual because vaccines also protect people in the wider community who can’t be vaccinated or don’t mount a strong immune response, Røttingen said.

“I am worried” about rising measles cases in the US and Europe, he said. Public willingness to use new vaccines and other technologies will also be crucial in future health emergencies, he said. “The power of science can only be fully realised if people trust the science and trust the technologies coming from science.”

Politics also appears to shape Americans’ views of science. The share saying science benefits most people rose to 57% in 2025 from 48% in 2018, bucking a global decline.

Yet views were sharply divided along political lines. Among Americans who disapproved of their country’s leader, 74% said science benefited people like them “a lot”, compared with 44% among those who approved. The survey was conducted after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election but while Joe Biden was still president.

Scientists nevertheless remain more trusted than governments and journalists, according to the survey. The proportion expressing a lot of trust in scientists rose to 43% during the pandemic from 34% in 2018, before falling to 32% in 2025.

The decline needs to be kept in perspective, Røttingen said. About seven in 10 people globally still trust science. BLOOMBERG