When it comes to winning over COVID-19 vaccine skeptics, there is hardly a worse messenger than Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Republicans overwhelmingly see Fauci as untrustworthy. Given that Republicans account for a large share of the unvaccinated, and considering public trust for Fauci has slipped considerably with multiple groups in recent months, it makes little sense for cable and network news media to rely on the White House chief medical adviser to promote the Biden administration’s vaccination efforts.