Big Pharma unites Americans in disdain

Most Americans of all political persuasions distrust large pharmaceutical companies, think their priority is profit and not helping people, and believe they have too much influence on the government, according to a new poll.

Only 6% of American voters trust big pharmaceutical companies “a lot,” while 19% don’t trust them at all, and 53% distrust them to some degree, said a Rasmussen Reports poll published on Wednesday.

75% think that large pharmaceutical companies are in it for the profit.

Only 14% think they are concerned most about making their customers' lives better.#breakingpoll#BigPharma@POTUShttps://t.co/MJ70PqGbJy pic.twitter.com/rY1cMLq9cA

— Rasmussen Reports (@Rasmussen_Poll) December 1, 2021

Three out of four respondents think Big Pharma is motivated by profit. There was remarkably little divergence on this issue along party lines, with 78% of Republicans, 71% of Democrats and 75% of unaffiliated voters in agreement. Only 14% think the drug companies are concerned with making their customers’ lives better.

Meanwhile, 70% of voters say the drug-makers have too much influence on government and public policy.

The national online and phone survey was conducted by Rasmussen earlier this week, on a sample of 1,000 likely voters with a 95% level of confidence and a 3 percentage point margin of sampling error.

The poll results come after the Biden administration updated recommendations for Covid-19 booster jabs and expanded vaccination, citing the new Omicron strain of the virus.

“Everyone ages 18 and older should get a booster shot either when they are six months after their initial Pfizer or Moderna series or two months after their initial J&J vaccine,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Monday.