Reuters A bipartisan majority of Americans believe vaccines are safe and that children should receive them to attend school, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, illustrating the challenges President Donald Trump’s administration faces to win broad support for upending decades of health policy.
The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has led the U.S. government to drop recommendations for several childhood immunizations and boosted federal support for states providing exemptions to vaccine mandates, such as for school attendance.
Some 84% of respondents, including 92% of Democrats and 81% of Republicans, said vaccines for diseases like measles, mumps and rubella are safe for children.
Seventy-four percent said the government should require healthy children to be vaccinated to attend school, with 23% saying unvaccinated children should be allowed in schools. Nearly all U.S. states mandate vaccination for school enrollment, with some limited exemptions.