A new Washington Post poll released Monday found that one in six American parents has delayed or skipped some or all of the standard childhood vaccines. Most of these parents cited concerns about potential side effects and a lack of trust in federal health authorities to guarantee vaccine safety.
Around nine percent have opted not to give their children polio or MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) shots, a trend that public health experts warn could lead to the resurgence of serious illnesses that routine childhood vaccination had largely controlled.
In 2025, the United States faced its worst measles outbreak in more than three decades, with over 1,400 confirmed cases and three deaths, including two young children.
Parents who reported delaying or skipping vaccines were more likely to identify as Republican, be under 35, follow religious beliefs, or homeschool their children.
The Washington Post-KFF poll also found that parents were even less likely to vaccinate against Covid-19 or the flu: about half did not give their children flu shots last year, and 56 percent expressed doubts about the safety of Covid-19 vaccines for kids.
Despite these trends, the majority of American parents still support vaccinations, with 81 percent saying public schools should continue requiring measles and polio immunizations, the poll showed.
But while vaccinations have long been part of standard-issue medical care, resistance has mushroomed in the United States in recent years, stoked in large part by debunked claims linking shots to autism.
The US federal health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has played a significant role in fueling those fears by repeating the false claims and sowing doubts about vaccine safety.
As the top US health official, he has taken steps to curb access to Covid shots and recently ousted Sue Monarez from her post as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over immunization guidelines.
Monarez is set to testify before the Senate health committee this week.
Kennedy’s revamped Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) a scientific advisory board meant to make recommendations to the CDC, which he has staffed with vaccine skeptics after dismissing the entire previous body is also set to convene at the end of this week.
On Monday the CDC announced an additional five ACIP members, including figures who have argued against Covid vaccine mandates and pushed unproven treatments for the disease.
