— Recent national polls find that most U.S. adults continue to back requiring routine childhood vaccinations for school attendance, even as Florida moves to eliminate state vaccine mandates and overall support has declined compared with past decades.
Key Takeaways
- Major national surveys show a majority still favor school vaccine requirements, though support has softened since the early 1990s.
- Harvard/SSRS and New York Times/Ipsos polls indicate strong overall backing for mandates; a 2024 Gallup survey found more division.
- Partisan gaps have widened: Republicans are less likely than Democrats to view childhood vaccines as extremely important.
- Many Americans report encountering false claims about vaccines; uncertainty is common even where firm belief is rare.
- Opposition to mandates often centers on parental choice and government authority rather than stated safety concerns.
Verified Facts
Multiple recent polls — including a March Harvard/SSRS survey and a New York Times/Ipsos poll — found that large shares of U.S. adults favor requiring routine childhood immunizations like MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) for school attendance. The Harvard/SSRS data showed roughly eight in 10 adults supporting such requirements, while the NYT/Ipsos figures put support near seven in 10 in some samples.
A 2024 Gallup poll reported a narrower split, with about half of adults saying government should require childhood vaccinations and nearly half opposing mandates. That contrasts with a 1991 poll in which roughly 81% of respondents supported government requirements for childhood vaccines, illustrating a long-term shift in public sentiment.
Partisan differences are pronounced. Gallup’s 2024 results found most Republicans opposed mandates (about 60% in that sample) and far fewer Republicans describing childhood vaccination as “extremely important” compared with Democrats (roughly one-quarter of Republicans versus about six in 10 Democrats, per the Gallup findings).
Surveys also document exposure to misinformation. An April KFF poll found about six in 10 adults had seen or heard the false claim that MMR vaccines cause autism; roughly one-third had heard the claim that getting the measles shot is more dangerous than catching measles. Only a small share — around 5% — viewed these false claims as definitely true, while under half said they were definitely false, leaving a large middle of respondents who were uncertain.
Polling on reasons for opposing mandates points to values about choice. The Harvard/SSRS poll reported that among those who oppose routine vaccine requirements, about eight in 10 cited parental choice as a major reason, while about 40% pointed to safety concerns as a major factor.
Context & Impact
Public health authorities emphasize that routine childhood immunizations prevent large numbers of deaths and serious illness worldwide and remain a cornerstone of disease control. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that routine vaccines save millions of lives globally and prevent widespread outbreaks when coverage is high.
States’ policy choices can affect vaccination coverage and outbreak risk. If a state removes school-entry vaccine mandates, public health officials warn coverage could drop and local outbreaks of diseases like measles could become more likely, especially where exemptions increase.
Political dynamics have shaped how Americans view vaccine policy. The partisan divergence widened after 2019 and accelerated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, when vaccine policy became more politically charged. That shift has made national consensus on mandates harder to sustain.
Possible consequences to watch:
- Lower vaccination rates in some communities, increasing outbreak risk.
- Heightened attention to exemptions and enforcement at school and local levels.
- Stronger public health communication campaigns aimed at reducing uncertainty and countering misinformation.
“Vaccination is one of the most effective tools to prevent disease and protect communities from outbreaks.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Unconfirmed
- Claims that childhood vaccines cause autism remain unsupported by scientific evidence and are not substantiated; surveys show many Americans have heard the claim but only a small fraction believe it is definitely true.
- Assertions that receiving the measles vaccine is more dangerous than contracting measles are contradicted by public health data showing higher complication rates from natural infection; however, some individuals remain uncertain.
Bottom Line
Current polling indicates that a majority of Americans continue to support requiring routine childhood vaccinations for school attendance, but support has eroded compared with decades past and is sharply divided along partisan lines. Policymakers weighing changes to mandates should consider how reduced coverage could raise the risk of outbreaks and the persistent role of misinformation and beliefs about parental choice in shaping public opinion.