Most Americans confused about RFK Jr’s stance on measles vaccine as views dim of his ability to rein in outbreaks

Childhood Vaccines
Measles
Anti-science
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaking at podium with US flag in background

Gage Skidmore / Flickr cc

Most US adults either still mistakenly believe that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doesn’t recommend the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine or are unsure of his stance, prompting doubt about his ability to address ongoing measles outbreaks across the country, according to a poll released today by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania.

In addition, most adults dismiss the Trump administration’s claim that childhood vaccines cause autism, and while half of poll respondents still hold the same unfavorable opinion of Kennedy they did in August 2025, significantly more say they view him very unfavorably.

Americans’ uncertainty of where Kennedy stands on the MMR vaccine might in large part be traced back to Kennedy himself. He has rarely provided unflinching support for the highly effective vaccine.

More than 1,900 adults responded to the poll, conducted from August 4 to 17. Of all participants, 31% correctly stated that Kennedy recommends the MMR vaccine, up from 23% in August 2025. But most indicated that Kennedy either doesn’t recommend the vaccine (29%) or are unclear about his position (40%).

“Measles is highly contagious,” APPC research analyst Laura Gibson, PhD, said in the news release. “As we’ve seen this year, communities that don’t maintain 95% vaccination rates are at risk for outbreaks.”

US ‘paying the price’ for vaccine skepticism

As of late last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had confirmed 3,659 measles cases so far this year, compared with 2,289 for all of 2025. Nearly all of infected people (95%) were either unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. 

Pennsylvania is still the nation’s hot spot, with 903 cases, 114 of them from the past week, including four deaths. While the CDC initially didn’t recognize any of the deaths, it now lists two.

As measles cases rise and the U.S. is poised to lose its measles elimination status, this country is paying the price for skepticism about vaccination against measles that RFK Jr. played a central role in promoting.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, PhD

On August 2, after years of unproven claims about the MMR vaccine and an assertion that childhood vaccines cause autism, Kennedy denied responsibility for the measles outbreaks. “I’ve never questioned the efficacy of the MMR vaccine,” he said on CNN. “A measles vaccine is effective. It stops measles in about 97% of the cases.”

In the news release, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, PhD, APPC director emerita, said, “As measles cases rise and the U.S. is poised to lose its measles elimination status, this country is paying the price for skepticism about vaccination against measles that RFK Jr. played a central role in promoting.”

42% rate Kennedy very unfavorably

Over half of respondents (55%) agreed more with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ statement that studies have repeatedly found no link between childhood vaccines and autism, while only 18% said they believe the CDC’s current assertion that studies haven’t ruled out a link between the two, and 27% said they weren’t sure.

In total, 68% of participants said that it’s false to state that childhood vaccines such as MMR cause autism, whereas 13% say that statement is true, and 19% aren’t certain—percentages statistically unchanged since 2022. In June 2021, however, significantly more (74%) thought the statement was false.

Just over half (52%) believe that fully vaccinated children are about as likely to show signs of autism as those not fully vaccinated, and 9% say fully vaccinated children are more likely, down from 12% in February 2026. Another 12% say they’re less likely to show signs of autism, and 28% aren’t sure. 

“This small decrease in endorsing a link between vaccination and autism is good news in our survey data,” Ken Winneg, PhD, APPC managing director of survey research, said. “However, when looking at the same people over time, there is no relationship between accurate change in knowledge of RFK Jr.’s recommendations and decreases in endorsing this misbelief.”

A total of 23% of respondents said that their opinion of Kennedy is favorable, unchanged from August 2025. Half report an unfavorable view of him, with 42% saying they see him very unfavorably and 8% somewhat unfavorably. While the public’s overall unfavorable rating of Kennedy has not changed since August 2025, significantly more participants said their opinion is very unfavorable in 2026 than in 2025 (42% vs 37%).

The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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