Public confidence in the safety of measles vaccines has declined in the United States, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The survey found that 76 percent of people in the U.S. consider the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine safe for children. That figure was 84 percent in a similar Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in May 2020. The latest poll surveyed 1,143 adults between Sept. 11 and Sept. 14, 2026.1
The poll also found that a bipartisan majority of Americans still support vaccinating children against measles, mumps and rubella. At the same time, the survey recorded a decline in confidence about vaccine safety. The decrease was particularly pronounced among respondents identifying as Republicans.2
Vaccination Rates Decline
In August 2026, Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccination data shows that 92.4 percent of U.S. kindergarteners had received the MMR vaccine during the 2025–26 school year. That compares with a 95 percent MMR vaccine coverage rate among kindergarteners in the 2019–20 school year before the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting a nationwide drop of 2.6 percent. Kaiser Family Foundation reported that the latest figure left approximately 280,000 kindergarteners without documented MMR vaccination.3
Kaiser Family Foundation also found differences among states. During the 2025–26 school year, 39 states had MMR vaccination rates below 95 percent, while 18 states reported rates below 90 percent. Before the pandemic, 28 states had rates below 95 percent and three had rates below 90 percent. They noted that vaccination coverage also varied substantially between states, ranging from 75.2 percent in Idaho to 98.9 percent in West Virginia.4
The number of kindergarteners receiving medical, religious or conscientious belief exemptions to vaccination from one or more required vaccines has also increased. Kaiser Family Foundation reported that the national exemption rate rose from 2.5 percent in the 2019–20 school year to 4.2 percent in 2025–26, the highest national exemption rate recorded in its analysis. Exemptions for personal beliefs, rather than medical exemptions, accounted for most of the vaccine exemption increases, rising from 2.2 percent to 4 percent during that period.5
The Reuters/Ipsos findings and Kaiser Family Foundation data describe two developments occurring at the same time: fewer Americans report confidence in the safety of the MMR vaccine than in 2020, while kindergarten MMR vaccination coverage has remained below the 95 percent target in recent years. The data document these trends but do not establish that changes in public confidence caused changes in MMR vaccination rates.6 7
Parents Seek Alternative Health Care Options
Some parents with concerns about childhood vaccines are choosing health care providers who allow parents to delay or spread out vaccinations or do not require children to receive vaccines as a condition of receiving medical care. Online communities have helped parents identify medical practices described as “vaccine friendly” or “vaccine neutral.”
These health care providers do not all follow the same approach. Some offer vaccines while allowing parents to delay them, and others continue to provide medical care for families who choose not to vaccinate. Some parents are changing providers after doctors require vaccinations as a condition of receiving medical care.8
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Click here to view References:1 Lange J. & Abutaleb Y. Trust in measles vaccines falls in US, Reuters Ipsos poll finds. Reuters Sept. 15, 2026.
2 Ibid.
3 Williams E. et al. Kindergarten Routine Vaccination Rates Continue to Decline. KFF Aug. 21. 2026.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Lange J. & Abutaleb Y. Trust in measles vaccines falls in US, Reuters Ipsos poll finds. Reuters Sept. 15, 2026.
7 Williams E. et al. Kindergarten Routine Vaccination Rates Continue to Decline. KFF Aug. 21. 2026.
8 Rodriguez B. As parents seek out ‘vaccine friendly’ clinics, pediatricians worry about eroding trust. 19th News Apr. 7, 2026.
