The overwhelming majority of American adults—70%—support school mandates or requirements for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to a new poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center. This percentage is higher than even 2 years ago and contradicts recent messaging from US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Earlier this month, Kennedy told the media that he does not believe the federal government should mandate any vaccine, and in the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission report released last week, Kennedy said parents need to consider the pros and cons of childhood vaccines.
In referencing parents, Kennedy said in the report, “Many of them have concerns about the appropriate use of vaccines and their possible role in the growing childhood chronic disease crisis.”
But in the poll, conducted this April as the nation faced major measles outbreaks, 1,653 adults said they would choose a requirement over parental choice when it comes to MMR vaccines, “because of the potential risk for other children and adults when children are not vaccinated.” Only 18% of those polled said, "parents should be able to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children who attend public schools even if their decision not to vaccinate creates health risks for other children.”
The 70% is a significant increase from the 63% who agreed with school vaccine mandates in 2023. The margin of error for the entire sample is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Earlier this month, Florida became the first state to end vaccine requirements for school attendance. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD, PhD, said vaccine mandates “drip with disdain and slavery.”
Cassidy urges vaccine uptake; ACIP schedule posted
Late last week, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, (head of the Senate HELP committee and the key vote that confirmed Kennedy as HHS secretary) said he sent Kennedy a letter asking him to encourage uptake of the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine. Pertussis, or whooping cough, cases have been on the rise in Louisiana, which has tracked 368 cases so far this year.
Your strong public support for this vaccine will save lives.
“In my state of Louisiana, we are experiencing the worst pertussis outbreak in 35 years. The outbreak has already killed two babies,” Cassidy wrote. “I want to work together to stop pertussis. Your strong public support for this vaccine will save lives.”
The letter was followed by posts on X from Cassidy about the benefits of measles and RSV vaccination.
Later this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will meet. The agenda is now posted, and the group will discuss and may vote on the MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella) and hepatitis B vaccines on Thursday and COVID-19 vaccines on Friday.
Wisconsin’s measles outbreak grows
Finally, today, a measles outbreak in Oconto County, Wisconsin, has risen to 36 cases, per the state's measles dashboard. Two people have been hospitalized, and all 36 cases have occurred in unvaccinated individuals, officials said.
Last week, Los Angeles County confirmed a measles-related death in a school-aged child. Currently, the United States is seeing the highest number of measles cases in almost 30 years.
