A Gallup poll conducted in July found for the first time that less than a majority of surveyed Americans think that it is “extremely important” that parents have their children vaccinated. Only 40 percent of polled individuals agreed with this assessment compared to the 64 percent high point of agreement expressed when the question was first asked in 2001.
In an August article detailing the poll results, Jeffrey M. Jones of Gallup pointed out that the decline in support for vaccinations of children comes almost entirely from Republicans and Republican-leaning independents:
The declining belief in the importance of vaccines is essentially confined to Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, as the views of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have changed little over the past 24 years. Twenty-six percent of Republicans and Republican leaners — half as many as in 2019 — believe it is extremely important for parents to get their children vaccinated. In the initial Gallup poll on vaccinations, Republicans and Republican leaners (62%) held similar views to Democrats and Democratic leaners (66%); the two groups now differ by 37 percentage points.
Nearly half — 45 percent — of Republican and Republican-leaning respondents expressed from lukewarm support for childhood vaccination to outright opposition, with 26 percent answering it is “somewhat important,” eight percent “not very important,” and 11 percent “not at all important.” Among Democrat and Democrat-leaning respondents these answers totaled just seven percent.
A potential policy result of the change in opinion regarding childhood vaccines is an easing or even elimination of states’ and schools’ vaccination mandates, especially where the population is made up largely of Republican and Republican-leaning individuals. The poll results indicate plummeting support for the position that “the government should require all parents to have their children vaccinated against contagious diseases such as measles.” Support for this position dropped from 62 percent in 2019 to 51 percent in the new poll. Among Republican and Republican-leaning respondents support for such government shots mandates for children declined form 53 percent in 2019 to just 36 percent in the new poll, while support among Democrat and Democrat-leaning respondents has remained rather steady at around 70 percent.
The polling data is in. Will politicians heed their constituents’ views and curtail and even eliminate childhood vaccine mandates?