(Reuters) – American confidence in vaccines against deadly childhood diseases, including measles, has fallen in recent years, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll — a worrying sign for the country, which is facing the worst measles outbreaks in decades.
The poll, conducted over four days and completed on Monday, showed that a bipartisan majority of the population still supports vaccinating children against measles, a disease that has virtually disappeared from the United States for more than two decades, until a resurgence consolidated in recent years, following a decline in vaccination rates.
About 76% of Americans said they believed vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella are safe for children, a drop from 84% recorded in a Reuters/Ipsos poll in May 2020. The drop in confidence was more pronounced among Republicans, as some party members downplayed the importance of vaccines.
The president Donald Trump signed, in August, an executive order that provides for reducing the number of immunizations on the federal childhood vaccination schedule from 17 to 11. The president’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had been a longtime anti-vaccine activist before Trump named him Secretary of Health. In that role, he has sought to reshape U.S. vaccination policy, pressing for a reduction in the number of vaccines for children.
WORST OUTBREAK IN 35 YEARS
Pennsylvania, Utah, and South Carolina are experiencing measles outbreaks this year. Pennsylvania announced three measles-related deaths in recent weeks. The country recorded more than 3,000 confirmed cases this year, the highest number in 35 years.
Measles, which can cause symptoms such as fever, rash and breathing problems, is highly contagious, but easily preventable with the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — a routine vaccine for children that has 97% effectiveness in preventing infection after two doses. It is normally administered between 12 and 15 months of age and, again, between 4 and 6 years old.
Average vaccination coverage in the U.S. among kindergarten children fell last year to 92.5%, according to CDC data, below the 95% level that, according to experts, is necessary to achieve so-called herd immunity, capable of protecting those in the community who cannot receive the vaccine.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that only 19% of Americans approve of how Trump has handled the measles outbreak, compared with 52% who disapprove. The remainder said they had no opinion or did not respond to the question.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted online and nationwide, gathered responses from 1,143 American adults and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
