Poll: Many Americans Support Mandatory Vaccinations

A poll from Reuters/Ipsos indicated that 78% of respondents said all children should be vaccinated unles there is a direct health risk to them from vaccination. Just 13% opposed vaccinations.

The poll showed that the number of people opposed to vaccinations was significantly higher in the West, at 17%.

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Older individuals are more supportive of vaccinations than younger people, according to the online survey.

Overall, 71% of Americans think public schools should be allowed to suspend unvaccinated children when there is a major outbreak of any disease, according to the findings.

Another 42% said a politician's position on vaccinations would have a major impact on whether they voted for the candidate in upcoming races, though 35% said it would not.

Thirty-eight percent said parents should be able to choose whether or not to vaccinate their children, while the majority (44%) opposed this notion.

Vaccination has become a hot topic recently due to the recent measles outbreak in California. Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000.

Theories of a link between vaccines and autism have led some parents to refuse to have their children inoculated.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey included 6012 US adults ≥18 years of age who were interviewed online between February 4 and February 23.—Kerri Fitzgerald

Source: Thomson Reuters. 2015; Big U.S. majority favors mandatory vaccinations: Reuters/Ipsos poll.