Although Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted on social media in April that the “most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,” in a CBS News interview that month he said, “The federal government’s position, my position, is that people should get the measles vaccine, but the government should not be mandating it.”
The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission report issued Sept. 9, “Make Our Children Healthy Again” urges a rethinking of childhood vaccine schedules and mandates, based on what it calls a desire to inform parents “fully on the risks and benefits of vaccines.” The report says: “Many of them have concerns about the appropriate use of vaccines and their possible role in the growing childhood chronic disease crisis.”
Research by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) in April 2025 finds that 70% of the public supports vaccine requirements for MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) for children to attend public school, more than in 2023.
APPC’s Annenberg Science and Public Health survey, conducted in April among a nationally representative panel of 1,653 U.S. adults, finds that when asked to choose between parental choice or a requirement that healthy children get the MMR vaccine in order to attend public school “because of the potential risk for other children and adults when children are not vaccinated,” 70% support the vaccine requirement. Less than one in five people (18%) say their view is closer to the statement that “parents should be able to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children who attend public schools even if their decision not to vaccinate creates health risks for other children.”
This 70% support for the MMR vaccine requirement in April 2025 increased significantly since August 2023, when 63% said requiring the MMR vaccine for school was closer to their view on childhood vaccines for MMR.
A different Annenberg survey this year, in January 2025, took a more comprehensive look at vaccination requirements and support for opt-outs. It found that over 7 in 10 U.S. adults support a policy making it mandatory for parents to vaccinate their children against preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella.
Annenberg Science and Public Health survey
The survey data come from the 24th wave of a nationally representative panel of 1,653 U.S. adults conducted for the Annenberg Public Policy Center by SSRS, an independent market research company. Most have been empaneled since April 2021. To account for attrition, replenishment samples have been added over time using a random probability sampling design. The most recent replenishment, in September 2024, added 360 respondents to the sample. This wave of the Annenberg Science and Public Health (ASAPH) survey was fielded April 15-28, 2025. The margin of sampling error (MOE) is ± 3.4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All figures are rounded to the nearest whole number and may not add to 100%. Combined subcategories may not add to totals in the topline and text due to rounding.
Download the topline and the methods report.
The policy center has been tracking the American public’s knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors regarding vaccination, Covid-19, flu, RSV, and other consequential health issues through this survey panel for four years. APPC’s team on the ASAPH survey includes research analyst Laura A. Gibson; Patrick E. Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute; Ken Winneg, managing director of survey research; and APPC director Kathleen Hall Jamieson.
See other recent Annenberg health survey news releases:
- Health risks during pregnancy: Public knowledge high on smoking and alcohol risks during pregnancy (July 29, 2025)
- AI and health information: Many in U.S. consider AI-generated health information useful and reliable (July 14, 2025)
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): More people need to know how to prevent SIDS, survey shows (July 1, 2025)
- Mammogram screenings: Survey finds some confusion over mammogram guidelines (June 30, 2025)
- High blood pressure: Many Americans unaware high blood pressure usually has no noticeable symptoms (June 6, 2025)
