A survey from researchers at Emory University and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that only 35 to 40 percent of pregnant women and parents of young children in the United States intend to accept all government recommended vaccines.1
The survey was published as a research letter in the JAMA Network Open in mid-July. Researchers recruited 174 pregnant women and 1,765 parents from a nationally representative panel to answer questions about their intentions to have their child receive all recommended vaccines by age 18 months. Of those interviewed, 37.6 percent of pregnancies were first-time pregnancies and about half of respondents held a college bachelors’ degree or higher.1
Rejection of Vaccine Recommendations Since COVID Pandemic Response
Other data has affirmed similar findings that more individuals are questioning the safety, effectiveness and necessity of vaccines, presenting a notable shift in public opinion in the U,.S. largely since the push for everyone to get mRNA COVID shots. One study found that in the 2022 to 2023 school year, nonmedical exemptions in the U.S. reached a historic high, while other data showed lower flu vaccine uptake, and more frequent conversations questioning vaccination.2
“Given the high decisional uncertainty during pregnancy about vaccinating children after birth, there may be value in intervening during pregnancy to proactively support families with childhood vaccination decisions,” the researchers behind the survey wrote.1
The World Health Organization (WHO) calls vaccine hesitancy a significant global issue and one of the most pressing threats to public health. Researchers studying vaccine hesitancy state that the vaccine hesitancy “epidemic” is complex and fueled by misinformation, distrust in healthcare, cultural beliefs, and access barriers.2
Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Robert F. Kennedy recently removed members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and appointed new members creating work groups to review the federal childhood vaccine schedule, as well as to study vaccines that haven’t been fully scientifically evaluated.3
Study Links Genetic Factors Raising Risks for Vaccine Reactions in Infants
A recent peer-reviewed study published in the International Journal of Medical Sciences validated some parents’ hesitancy to vaccinate. Researchers found that genetic variability in terms of how infants metabolize various vaccine ingredients may play a critical role in unexplained deaths of otherwise healthy infants after vaccination, whose deaths are often misclassified as being caused by sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).4
Authors of the study call for pharmacogenetic screening prior to infant vaccination to help identify those who may be at higher risk for sudden death after vaccination. The researchers conducted the study to better understand and highlight how underdeveloped liver enzymes in infants are immature, potentially impairing an infant’s ability to detoxify vaccine ingredients like aluminum, polysorbate 80 and formaldehyde. The researchers say that the underdeveloped liver function along with inflammation triggered by vaccinations could increase the risk of adverse outcomes in genetically or developmentally vulnerable infants.4
A recent opinion piece from The Atlantic stated that doubts and concerns about vaccines were once largely fueled by friends and family or “unreliable” online information, but that now the doubt about vaccines “has the weight of the federal government behind it.”5
Michigan pediatrician Molly O’Shea told The Atlantic author:
Families have really been shaken in their confidence in what we’ve been telling them all this time. We’re already seeing in my practices a decrease in people taking vaccines on schedule.5
Behavioral Science Weaponized to Influence Vaccine Decisions
The answer to vaccine hesitancy for many health organizations and professionals is not to listen to patients’ concerns and respect their decisions or the informed consent process, but rather to use behavioral psychology to coerce and change their opinions, beliefs and behavior.
The American Health Care Association website outlines the science of effecting behavior change when having conversations about vaccines, instructing health care professionals on how to use the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change framework to intervene in and manipulate the decision-making process.6
“By tailoring messages and interventions to each individual’s stage [of decision making], you can improve vaccine uptake and support staff and residents throughout their vaccination journey,” the website states. “Remember that each conversation is an opportunity to build trust and empower individuals to make informed health decisions.”6
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Click here to view References:1 Van Beusekom M. Most US pregnant women, parents of young kids don’t plan to accept all recommended kids’ vaccines. CIDRAP July 17, 2025.
2 Kaushik A et al., Pediatric vaccine hesitancy in the United States— the growing problem and strategies for management including motivational interviewing. Vaccines Jan. 24, 2025.
3 Goldman M. RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisors to re-examine childhood vax schedule. Axios June 25, 2025.
4 Baker A. Study calls for genetic screening before infants get vaccinated. The Vaccine Reaction July 7, 2025.
5 Wu K. The conversations doctors are having about vaccination now. The Atlantic July 16, 2025.
6 Bishnoi C. Having conversations about vaccines: Part 1- the science of behavior change. AHCA Oct. 23, 2024.
2 Responses
Article quote; Given the high decisional uncertainty during pregnancy about vaccinating children after birth, there may be value in intervening during pregnancy to proactively support families with childhood vaccination decisions,” / Response; There they go again, framing intelligent decisions rejecting the vaccination model as mere ‘hesitation’. Cleverly re establishing an authoritarian approach which justifies forced interventionism, framing that as ‘pro active support’. They’re tyrants. Drunk on power. Let’s talk; ‘behavioral conditioning’.
This is nothing short of programming Stockholm syndrome by proxy. They’re hoping to install a touch of Munchouser syndrome in everyone as well. Perhaps you’ve heard this associated line recently; ‘If you don’t trust in these vaccines, YOUR CHILDREN ARE GOING TO DIE!’ Lol, the positions are laughable. These people are not experts. What they are doing is not science. They sure are good at psychological manipulation though, got to give them that.
‘The WHO says’… We give a **** what those idiot international bureaucrats think. We did not vote for them. And they’re not in control of our lives. Our personal health care decisions are none of their business. Imagine if all these statistics and data tracking applied to you brushing your teeth or stretching every morning, that such was subject to mandatory reporting, associated ‘health care intervention.’ The appropriate response to the vaccine zealots, is to ignore them until they go away. Simply refuse to play their game, to deal in their deceptions and lies. If you or your children have taken vaccines or not is none of their GD business in the first place.
article quote; how infants metabolize various vaccine ingredients / Response; Holy Smokes! You’re not supposed to let an infant sleep on his stomach, have a drop of honey, a single bit of solid food, be exposed to anything toxic. Yet mysteriously we’re supposed to wrap them in forever chemical drenched ‘fire safety’ clothing and associated bedding materials. Subject them to insane volumes of flouride. Inject them directly into the veins with pharmasuetical concoctions. When their young bodies can’t even process a banana or a tea spoon of coffee or pure sugar without making them throw up and reject everything. Yet, because a man in a white lab coat whips out a needle, parents are supposed to suddenly forget everything they know or are learning about infant health care and just trust them to stab the children and inject unknown substances directly into their veins?!? It takes a special kind of stupid to buy into this routine. That’s where the repetitive psychological conditioning and fear based messaging kicks in. Who’s still buying this?
Triple pepsi challenge to any parent whom thinks this is acceptable practice; Demand two of every vaccine they want to give your children, then insist on getting the shot first yourself. If it’s really ‘safe and effective’, this should not be a problem.
Misinformation is and distrust in medical care is causing vaccine hesitation. yes if the professional tell the truth we would make vaccine decision quicker.
The new advice committee has slightly reduced the catch-up vaccines.