Most Americans Agree That Vaccinations Should Be Required For School Attendance

Most Americans think vaccines are beneficial for health, and that children should be required to get them, according to a new poll. The poll, from Pew Research Center, found 82 percent of U.S. adults say healthy children should be required to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in order to attend school, while just 17 percent say parents should be able to decide not to vaccinate their kids. In addition, nearly three-quarters of respondents (73 percent) rated the health benefits of the MMR vaccine as “high” or “very high,” while just 7 percent rated the benefits as “low.” Overall, 88 percent of Americans said the benefits of the MMR vaccine outweigh the risks, the poll found. [Just How Safe Are Vaccines? Here Are the Numbers] Still, parents with young children were slightly more concerned about the safety of the MMR vaccine. The poll found that about 43 percent of parents with children ages 0 to 4 years rated the risks of the MMR vaccine as “medium” or “high,” compared with 29 percent of parents with no children under 18. Some reports have found that people in more affluent communities are less likely to vaccinate their children, which has led to speculation that people with higher incomes are more concerned about vaccine safety, Pew said. But the new poll found people with higher incomes tended to have a positive view of vaccines — 97 percent of those with a family income of $100,000 a year or more...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news