It turns out that many people in the U.S. are in the dark about measles, even in the midst of a large outbreak currently affecting several states. A new poll out this week shows that roughly half of all Americans are uncertain about several myths surrounding measles and the highly effective vaccine used to prevent it.
KFF released the poll Wednesday, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of over 1,300 adults. The respondents were asked questions about the ongoing measles outbreaks and frequently debunked claims made by the anti-vaccination movement. Among other things, the poll found that more Americans have become aware of these claims, but only a minority are confident that these claims are false.
As of mid-April, 800 measles cases have been documented so far this year, most of which are from connected outbreaks in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Dozens of people, mostly children, have been hospitalized during these outbreaks, and at least three people have died after contracting measles (two deaths were directly attributed to measles, while the third is under investigation). 2025 is already the worst year on record for measles in the U.S. since 2019, and if these outbreaks aren’t contained soon enough, they could very well lead to the U.S. losing its official measles-free status (local transmission of the viral disease was eradicated in 2000).
Despite these developments, only 56% of respondents and 48% of parents of children under 18 were even aware that measles cases have been higher this year than in the recent past. About 51% in total said they were at least somewhat worried about the current outbreaks. These responses and others had a strong partisan gap, however: Roughly 75% of Democrats were worried about the outbreaks, compared to 28% of Republicans.
Some myths about measles vaccination are well known, such as the false link between vaccination and autism (63% of respondents said they had heard about this claim). Other myths, such as the idea that the measles vaccine is more dangerous than measles, are gaining recognition; a third of Americans in this poll reported hearing this claim, compared to 18% who said the same last year. 20% also said that they had heard about vitamin A supposedly preventing measles (vitamin A is sometimes used as a supportive treatment for measles, but is only recommended for people suffering from deficiency).
Less than 5% of respondents believed that these false claims were definitely true, while around a third believed them to be definitely false. But many people were somewhere in the middle, expressing some level of doubt (that said, more did say these claims were probably false than probably true). As before, these responses were more divided politically: 35% of Republicans and 26% of independents agreed that it was definitely or probably true that the measles vaccine causes autism, for instance, compared to 10% of Democrats.
Taken overall, these findings aren’t very encouraging, given the real possibility that measles could regain a firm foothold in the U.S. if we’re not too careful. The current Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, has long spread misinformation about the safety of vaccines. More recently, he’s downplayed these outbreaks and touted scientifically unsupported treatments for measles.
While the anti-vaccination movement and its false ideas certainly predate RFK Jr., his continued command over the country’s public health response could very well amplify people’s beliefs in these myths even further.
English (US) ·