Approximately one in six parents decided to skip or postpone vaccinations for their children for illnesses other than Covid-19 or influenza, according to recent polls from KFF in collaboration with the Washington Post.
These surveys revealed that only 16% of parents have vaccinated their children against diseases aside from Covid-19 or influenza.
Among American parents, those who homeschool their kids or identify as extremely religious are the most likely to delay vaccinations, with 46% and 36% having inoculated their children, respectively.
Additionally, Republican-identifying individuals are nearly twice as likely to avoid vaccinating their children for non-Covid and non-flu illnesses, with 22% and 12% opting to delay vaccines.
Furthermore, polling indicates that 19% of white Americans’ children receive vaccinations compared to 5% of Asian American children.
Other surveys highlight a troubling trend of declining vaccination rates in the U.S. A KFF poll released earlier this month noted that 92.5% of kindergarten children were vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, and polio, while 92.1% received the DTaP vaccine during the 2024-25 period.
These figures reflect a drop from 2019-20, when 95% of children were vaccinated for MMR, polio, and DTaP.
Experts generally recommend a vaccination rate of about 95% to ensure community protection against disease transmission.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, child vaccination rates have continued to decline, raising concerns among public health experts about potential shifts in federal vaccine policies, especially with prominent vaccine skeptics like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in significant positions.
The post-KFF polls indicate that concerns regarding vaccine side effects play a significant role in parents’ decisions to forego vaccinations.
Among those who delayed or skipped vaccines, 67% cited worries about side effects as the primary reason, while 53% expressed a lack of confidence in the vaccine’s safety.
The post-KFF poll surveyed 2,716 parents or guardians of children under 18 from July 18 to August 4, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
