Although Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted on social media in April that the “most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,” in a CBS News interview that month he said, “The federal government’s position, my position, is that people should get the measles vaccine, but the government should not be mandating it.”
The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission report issued Sept. 9, “Make Our Children Healthy Again” urges a rethinking of childhood vaccine schedules and mandates, based on what it calls a desire to inform parents “fully on the risks and benefits of vaccines.” The report says: “Many of them have concerns about the appropriate use of vaccines and their possible role in the growing childhood chronic disease crisis.”
Research by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) in April 2025 finds that 70% of the public supports vaccine requirements for MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) for children to attend public school, more than in 2023.
APPC’s Annenberg Science and Public Health survey, conducted in April among a nationally representative panel of 1,653 U.S. adults, finds that when asked to choose between parental choice or a requirement that healthy children get the MMR vaccine in order to attend public school “because of the potential risk for other children and adults when children are not vaccinated,” 70% support the vaccine requirement. Less than one in five people (18%) say their view is closer to the statement that “parents should be able to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children who attend public schools even if their decision not to vaccinate creates health risks for other children.”
This 70% support for the MMR vaccine requirement in April 2025 increased significantly since August 2023, when 63% said requiring the MMR vaccine for school was closer to their view on childhood vaccines for MMR.
A different Annenberg survey this year, in January 2025, took a more comprehensive look at vaccination requirements and support for opt-outs. It found that over 7 in 10 U.S. adults support a policy making it mandatory for parents to vaccinate their children against preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella.
Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center