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Vast Majority of Americans Say Benefits of Childhood Vaccines Outweigh Risks
More Americans with high science knowledge, education and income say MMR vaccine benefits are high, risk of side effects is low
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- Vast Majority of Americans Say Benefits of Childhood Vaccines Outweigh Risks
- Most Americans support a school-based vaccine requirement
- Parents of young children rate the risk of childhood vaccines higher and the benefits lower
- Most Americans say medical scientists should have a major policy role on vaccine issues
- Most Americans support requirement for vaccines; those under 50 are more likely to say parents should be able to decide
- Most Americans say vaccines should be required for schoolchildren; a larger share of conservatives say parents should be able to decide
- Americans use of conventional and alternative medicine varies
- Most Americans say vaccines should be required for schoolchildren; a larger share of those who have tried alternative medicine say parents should decide
- Parents of younger children and blacks see lower health benefits and higher risk of side effects from childhood vaccines
- Most Americans say benefits of childhood vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella outweigh risk, especially people with high science knowledge
- Roughly half of Americans express strong trust in medical scientists and their research on childhood vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella
- People with high science knowledge are more trusting of medical scientists and their research
- Younger generations are more skeptical of medical scientists and their research on childhood vaccines
- Most Americans say medical scientists should have a major policy role on vaccine issues
- Older Americans see public health improvements; more in younger groups see decline over past two decades
- Majority say healthy eating habits, physical exercise are very important for improving lifelong health
- More than half of Americans say they hear news about how to prevent serious diseases at least weekly
- People who follow health news daily see more conflicting news stories on ways to reduce health risk
- Most Americans say conflicting news reports about how to prevent disease reflect improved understanding
- Most Americans say they exercise a few times a week or less; a minority exercise every day
- Majority of Americans believe they should be getting more physical exercise
- Non-smokers, regular exercisers and older adults see themselves as following a healthy lifestyle
- Those who live a very healthy lifestyle are more likely to have similarly oriented family and friends
- More Americans see access to jobs as a problem in their area than access to quality health care or K-12 education
- Majority of the public has seen a health care provider in the past year for an illness or medical condition
- Most people who saw a health care provider about an illness in past year felt listened to, cared about
- Two-in-ten adults report using alternative medicine instead of conventional, traditional treatment
- Education groups are about the same in their use of alternative medicine
- One-in-twelve Americans never take over-the-counter medications; others vary in their approach
- Those who never take over-the-counter medications are more likely to have tried alternative medicine as a replacement for conventional medicine
- Health care behaviors linked with use of conventional and alternative medicine
- Most people say they do their own research in addition to asking for the doctor’s advice
- Those who never take over-the-counter medications more likely to supplement health care provider advice
- National vaccination rates have been roughly steady since 2000
- 42% of Americans say they care a great deal about vaccine issues
- A majority see high preventive health benefits, low risk of side effects for the childhood MMR vaccine
- More Americans with high science knowledge, education and income say MMR vaccine benefits are high, risk of side effects is low
- Parents of young children, blacks rate benefits of the MMR vaccine lower, risks of side effects higher
- Fewer younger adults say benefits of the MMR vaccine outweigh risk
- Those who never take over-the-counter medications see more risk from the MMR vaccine
- Those who avoid over-the-counter medications are more inclined to say the risks of childhood vaccines outweigh the benefits
- Most Americans favor a school requirement for childhood vaccines
- Older adults strongly support school-based vaccine requirements
- Higher income adults slightly more likely than lower income to support school-based vaccine requirements
- Lower support among conservatives for school requirement of vaccines
- Lower support among conservatives for school requirement of vaccines
- Those who have used alternative medicine, or never take over-the-counter medications are less likely to say vaccination should be required
- A majority of Americans believe that almost all medical scientists agree childhood vaccines are safe
- Most Americans say medical scientists understand the health effects of the MMR vaccine very or fairly well
- Most Americans trust medical scientists for full and accurate information on childhood vaccines
- About half of Americans think the best available evidence influences vaccine research most of the time