Gallup: Most trust Biden to lead U.S. healthcare through COVID-19

Oct. 8 (UPI) -- More Americans trust Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to lead the United States healthcare system through the COVID-19 pandemic than do President Donald Trump, according to a Gallup survey Thursday.

The survey found that a majority (52%) of respondents prefer Biden to Trump when it comes to "leading the U.S. healthcare system most efficiently in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic."

Thirty-nine percent said they trust Trump more and 9% said they prefer another candidate.

The Gallup survey, taken between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 -- before Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week -- was done in partnership with West Health.

Responses broke along typical party lines, with 95% of Democrats saying they trust Biden more and 88% of Republicans favoring Trump. Independents went for Biden by a seven-point margin (47% to 40%) and 13% of those independent voters preferred another candidate.

Biden led a 26-point gap among women (58% to 32%), a 37-point gap among those between the ages of 18 and 29 (62% to 25%) and a 24-point gap among those 30 to 44 (56% to 32%). Respondents 65 and older also favored the Democratic nominee by a 48%-to-46% margin.

Trump narrowly won the 45-to-64 age group (48% to 45%) and men prefer him by a 48%-to-46% margin.

A medical study found last month that Black Americans are five times as likely to pick up COVID-19 than those in other racial and ethnic groups. Biden led by a double-digit margin among Black and Hispanic Americans when asked who they trust to improve racial equity in access to quality healthcare.

Thursday's survey also showed that more than two-thirds of respondents said "managing the coronavirus pandemic" and "reducing the cost of healthcare" are among the "most important" factors in deciding their vote for the 2020 presidential election. Lowering the cost of drugs was also cited by most Republicans as one of the most important factors.

Gallup polled more than 1,500 U.S. adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the survey, which has a margin of error of between 1.9 and 3.2 points.