Nearly half of Americans are somewhat skeptical of vaccines, a new poll has found.
Some 46 percent of U.S. adults who responded to a Public First poll by Politico in March agreed that “facts on vaccines are still up for debate and it is damaging to enforce their uptake.”
In contrast, only 39 percent said that the science on vaccines “is clear and it is damaging to question it.”
The results of the survey are in line with the views of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic and founder of the Republican “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
Politico’s survey noted a clear split along partisan lines, with six in 10 Republicans favoring administering fewer vaccines, compared with just three in 10 Democrats.
“What stands out is that vaccine safety and vaccine choice are no longer fringe issues,” Mary Holland, CEO of anti-vax group Children’s Health Defense, which Kennedy previously led before taking his post in government, told Politico.
“People want to be able to make their own medical decisions.”
Astonishingly, overall, 39 percent of respondents to Politico’s survey said they would allow vaccine-preventable diseases to return, rather than force people to have vaccines, in contrast to 47 percent who said they would rather not.
That split was again more pronounced along party lines, with 49 percent of Republicans saying they would risk the return of such diseases for their freedom of choice, in contrast to 58 percent of Democrats.
During his tenure as Health Secretary, Kennedy has overseen several major changes within his department and its policies, including the attempted overhaul of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the elimination of Covid-19 vaccine recommendations.
Last week, it was reported that the CDC had delayed publishing a report showing the benefits of the Covid vaccine, further sparking concerns that the information conflicted with Kennedy’s views. The CDC insisted that the move followed standard procedure.
The new report found that healthy adults who received the Covid vaccine cut their risk of urgent care and emergency visits by 50 percent, and Covid-related hospitalizations by 55 percent, compared to adults who did not receive a dose in 2025 or 2026, according to The Washington Post.
Elsewhere, Kennedy has also directed that language refuting links between vaccines and autism be changed.
