A KFF poll was released today that looked at how Americans view the measles outbreak. The KFF team conducted its online and telephone survey from April 8 to April 15 using a nationally representative sample of 1,022 adults.
The team found that the roughly half of Americans were aware of the growing outbreak (56% of all adults and 48% of parents). This leaves about 40% of adults who are unaware that measles cases are on the rise in the U.S.; either incorrectly saying cases are lower or about the same as compared to recent years (16%), or that they are “not sure” (28%). Regarding concern over the measles outbreak, 51% of adults and 47% of parents are at least "somewhat worried" about the outbreak, including approximately 1 in 7 adults who were "very worried" (14% of all adults, 13% of parents). Concerns were notably higher among Blacks and Hispanics (60% compared to 46% of White adults).
Not surprisingly, partisanship played a significant role in not only concern but also awareness of the growing outbreak, with 71% of Democrats aware of the increasing cases compared to 49% of Republicans; Democrats were also much more likely to be worried about the outbreak than Republicans (76% vs 28%). The partisan breakdown was also apparent among parents, with Democrat and left-leaning parents twice as likely as Republican and right-leaning parents in terms of being aware of the growing outbreak (64% vs 37%) as well as expressing concern (73% vs 26%).
Overall, college graduates are more likely than those without a college degree to know that measles cases are higher this year compared to recent years past (72% vs 47%), but partisan differences were still notable even when controlling for education. Democrats without a college degree were still more aware of the increase in measles cases compared to Republicans without a college degree (61% vs 43%).
These partisan differences may be related to messaging from the Trump administration as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has recently claimed this year’s outbreak in the U.S. is “not unusual” even as measles cases in the U.S. are currently at their highest point since 2019.
When KFF asked if respondents had read or heard about the false claim that the MMR vaccine is more dangerous than measles, one in three adults said they knew about the misinformation, up 15% from a year ago. One in three adults now say they have heard or read false claims that getting the MMR vaccine is more dangerous than the disease itself, up 18% since March 2024. Similarly, 20% of adults and 17% of parents have heard or read the claim that Vitamin A can prevent measles infections.
Most adults (63% all adults, 61% of parents) have heard the myth that vaccines cause autism. The percentage of those who have heard this false claim has remained virtually unchanged since 2023, with little difference across gender, age, sex, and partisanship; only race and ethnicity were notable with 72% of White adults having heard this false claim, compared to 53% of Blacks and 45% of Hispanics.
Thankfully, even with the widespread exposure to some of these false claims about measles, less than 5% of adults say they think each claim is “definitely true.” However, less than half of adults say each of these claims is “definitely false,” with larger shares expressing doubt. The degree and direction of uncertainty differs based on partisanship, education, and ethnicity. At least one in five Republicans and Independents believe that these false claims are "definitely" or "probably true", compared to at least 10% of Democrats. These partisan divisions also extend to parents.
While adults without a college education are twice as likely to believe or lean toward these claims as college educated adults, partisanship is significant even when controlling for education, with 41% of Republicans (vs 13% of Democrats) and 25% of college educated Republicans (vs 5% of college educated Democrats).
Hispanic adults are more likely than Black and White adults to believe that the MMR vaccine is more dangerous than the disease (34% Hispanics vs 19% of Blacks and 15% of Whites), or that Vitamin A can prevent measles (43% of Hispanics vs 25% of Blacks and 18% of Whites). The share of those who believe that vaccines cause autism do not differ across race and ethnicity
The share of adults who believe that vaccines are linked to autism or that the MMR vaccine is more dangerous than the disease has not changed significantly since 2023 and 2024 respectively, including among parents and across partisan groups.
It makes sense that beliefs about vaccines impact parenting decisions, and believing or leaning toward these false claims is directly associated with parents actions in vaccinating their children. Among parents who believe (with either "definitely" or "probably true") at least one of the three false claims about measles, 24% say they have. delayed or skipped some or all vaccines for their children, compared to about 11% of parents who say that each of these measles myths are "probably" or 'definitely false".
Overall, the majority of adults and parents are confident that the MMR vaccines are safe, though confidence is notably lower among Republican and right-leaning parents. 83% of adults and 78% of parents say they are either "very" or "somewhat confident" that the MMR vaccines are safe, with 96% of Democrats, 80% of Independents, and 79% of Republicans expressing confidence. Democrat and left-leaning parents are far more confident in the safety of the MMR vaccines (95%) compared to Republican and right-leaning parents (69%), leaving 30% of Republican parents not confident in the safety of the MMR vaccines, including 17% who are "not at all confident".
The MMR vaccines have been proven for decades to be both safe and effective in providing protection against measles.
Source: KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust (April 8-15, 2025, https://www.kff.org/health-information-and-trust/poll-finding/kff-tracking-poll-on-health-information-and-trust-the-publics-views-on-measles-outbreaks-and-misinformation/
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