Opposition to school vaccination mandates has increased dramatically, study finds
A third of parents now believe they should be the ones deciding whether to have their children vaccinated against measles, mumps and other childhood diseases.
For generations of most American families, getting kids vaccinated was just one thing to check off the back-to-school to-do list. But after the fierce battles over the Covid shots of the past two years, simmering resistance to blanket vaccination mandates in schools has increased dramatically. Today, 35% of parents oppose requiring children to receive routine vaccinations in order to attend school, according to a new survey released Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">All states and the District of Columbia require children to be immunized against measles, mumps, rubella, and other highly contagious deadly childhood diseases. (Most allow a few limited exemptions.)Throughout the pandemic, the Kaiser Foundation, a nonpartisan health care research organization, has published monthly reports on changing attitudes towards Covid vaccines. Surveys have shown a growing political divide on the issue, and the latest study says the divide now extends to routine childhood vaccinations.
Forty-four percent of adults who identify as Republicans or leaning that way said in the latest survey that parents should have the right to opt out of school vaccination mandates, up from 20% in a 2019 pre-pandemic poll conducted by the Pew Research Center . In contrast, 88% of adults who identify as or lean toward the Democrat-approved childhood vaccine needs, a slight increase from 86% in 2019.
The shift in stances appears to be less about rejection of the shots than growing endorsement of the so-called parents' rights movement. In fact, 80% of parents said the benefits of measles, mumps and rubella vaccines outweighed the risks, down slightly from 83% in 2019.
"The talking point that's been aired is the concept of removing parental rights," said Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Committee. "And when you put it that simply, it's very appealing to a certain segment of the population. But what about the right to have your children safe from vaccine-preventable diseases?"
Yet the Dr O'Leary said he was not overly concerned that school vaccination mandates would be lifted, but that the growing adoption of parental rights could still slow compliance with vaccination schedules required by the State, a schedule that has long been endorsed by pediatricians.
"We know that many children missed their vaccines during the pandemic, not because they refused, but because for many reasons people weren't going to the doctor," he said. "And we have a global drop in vaccination coverage. is therefore not the time to consider rolling back these laws. From November 29 to December 8.
It showed disappointing absorption rates of the latest Covid recall, a...
A third of parents now believe they should be the ones deciding whether to have their children vaccinated against measles, mumps and other childhood diseases.
For generations of most American families, getting kids vaccinated was just one thing to check off the back-to-school to-do list. But after the fierce battles over the Covid shots of the past two years, simmering resistance to blanket vaccination mandates in schools has increased dramatically. Today, 35% of parents oppose requiring children to receive routine vaccinations in order to attend school, according to a new survey released Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">All states and the District of Columbia require children to be immunized against measles, mumps, rubella, and other highly contagious deadly childhood diseases. (Most allow a few limited exemptions.)Throughout the pandemic, the Kaiser Foundation, a nonpartisan health care research organization, has published monthly reports on changing attitudes towards Covid vaccines. Surveys have shown a growing political divide on the issue, and the latest study says the divide now extends to routine childhood vaccinations.
Forty-four percent of adults who identify as Republicans or leaning that way said in the latest survey that parents should have the right to opt out of school vaccination mandates, up from 20% in a 2019 pre-pandemic poll conducted by the Pew Research Center . In contrast, 88% of adults who identify as or lean toward the Democrat-approved childhood vaccine needs, a slight increase from 86% in 2019.
The shift in stances appears to be less about rejection of the shots than growing endorsement of the so-called parents' rights movement. In fact, 80% of parents said the benefits of measles, mumps and rubella vaccines outweighed the risks, down slightly from 83% in 2019.
"The talking point that's been aired is the concept of removing parental rights," said Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Committee. "And when you put it that simply, it's very appealing to a certain segment of the population. But what about the right to have your children safe from vaccine-preventable diseases?"
Yet the Dr O'Leary said he was not overly concerned that school vaccination mandates would be lifted, but that the growing adoption of parental rights could still slow compliance with vaccination schedules required by the State, a schedule that has long been endorsed by pediatricians.
"We know that many children missed their vaccines during the pandemic, not because they refused, but because for many reasons people weren't going to the doctor," he said. "And we have a global drop in vaccination coverage. is therefore not the time to consider rolling back these laws. From November 29 to December 8.
It showed disappointing absorption rates of the latest Covid recall, a...
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