About three in four U.S. adults now say the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe for children, a noticeable drop from six years ago. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed Sept. 14 found that 76% of Americans consider the MMR vaccine safe for kids, compared with 84% in a May 2020 Reuters/Ipsos survey. The online poll of 1,143 U.S. adults has a margin of error of 3 percentage points, according to Reuters and CIDRAP.
The finding arrives during the country's worst measles year in decades. The CDC had confirmed 3,294 cases as of Sept. 10, already well above the 2,289 recorded in all of 2025, according to its measles case and outbreak tracker. KFF notes that the U.S. has reported more measles cases this year than in any year since 1991.
For parents, the numbers raise a practical question. Measles spreads through the air, and the CDC says a person can catch it just by being in a room where someone with measles has been. A family's protection therefore depends partly on how many people around them are vaccinated, and that share has been sliding.
Confidence Slips While Most Adults Still Back the Vaccine
The poll does not show the public turning against vaccination. Reuters reported that a bipartisan majority still supports vaccinating children against measles, while the drop in confidence about safety was most pronounced among Republicans. The survey follows an executive order President Donald Trump signed in August that called for reducing the number of immunizations on the federal childhood vaccination schedule from 17 to 11, according to Reuters.
A poll captures opinions at one moment. It cannot show that declining trust caused lower vaccination rates, and it cannot predict how individual parents will act. The eight-point gap is larger than the current poll's margin of error, but the 2020 survey had its own sampling error, so the direction of the change is clearer than its exact size.
The CDC's position has not changed. The agency's measles data page says the MMR vaccine "is very safe and effective," and it reports that two doses are 97% effective at preventing measles, while one dose is 93% effective.
Kindergarten Coverage Tells a Parallel Story
Vaccination records point the same way as the survey. According to CDC SchoolVaxView data released in August, 92.4% of kindergartners had completed the MMR series in the 2025-2026 school year, down from 95.2% in 2019-2020. That left about 280,000 kindergartners without documentation of completing the series. The CDC says that when more than 95% of people in a community are vaccinated, most people are protected through community immunity.
Exemptions from one or more vaccines rose to 4.2% from 3.6% a year earlier, covering about 155,000 kindergartners, and increased in 41 states and Washington, D.C. KFF describes the 4.2% figure as the highest national exemption rate to date.
Pediatricians see the national figure as both reassuring and insufficient. "When it comes to vaccination rates, however, anything less than achieving an A+ grade is not good enough," American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. Andrew D. Racine said in a statement reported by CIDRAP.
State Gaps and Outbreak Hot Spots Behind the National Average
National averages hide wide local differences. A KFF analysis of state-level CDC kindergarten vaccination data found 39 states below the 95% MMR target in 2025-2026 and 18 states below 90%, compared with 28 and three states before the pandemic. Coverage ranged from 75.2% in Idaho to 98.9% in West Virginia.
The CDC notes that pockets of unvaccinated people can exist even in states with high overall coverage, and outbreaks can occur when measles reaches those communities. This year, 95% of confirmed U.S. cases have been tied to outbreaks, and 38 new outbreaks have been reported.
Pennsylvania has been hit especially hard. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 731 confirmed cases in 38 counties as of Sept. 16, and 141 people have been hospitalized. The state has confirmed four measles-associated deaths this year, including two infants in Lancaster County. The first two deaths, announced in August, were the state's first measles-associated deaths in 35 years. The CDC does not currently include those deaths in its national tally. Its data page says federal death records do not show measles as the underlying cause of any 2026 death and that the agency is working with state epidemiologists on a standardized case definition for measles deaths, a gap that has fueled a public dispute between state and federal officials.
Utah, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Delaware also post real-time measles updates, according to the CDC. Families in those states, and travelers passing through them, can check state health department pages for current exposure information.
Protection Steps for Families Heading into Fall
Children typically receive the first MMR dose at 12 to 15 months and the second at 4 to 6 years. Parents who are unsure whether a child is up to date can ask a pediatrician or check a state immunization registry. Adults who do not know their own status can ask a clinician whether they need a dose, especially before international travel. The CDC says travelers who are infected abroad bring measles into the United States every year.
Measles usually begins with fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes before a rash appears. Anyone with those symptoms after a possible exposure should call ahead before visiting a clinic or emergency room so staff can prevent spread in the waiting area. Infants too young for the vaccine, pregnant people who are not immune, and people with weakened immune systems are among those at higher risk of serious complications.
Independent experts stress that small declines can matter. "Measles is among the most highly infectious diseases which means to stop it spreading very high rates of vaccine uptake need to be sustained," Professor Helen Bedford of University College London told Newsweek.
It is still unknown whether the drop in trust will show up in next year's kindergarten data, which will cover the current school year. For now, checking vaccination records before the holiday travel season is a low-cost step that protects both a child and the classmates around them.
Key Questions Answered
What did the new poll find?
The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 76% of Americans believe the MMR vaccine is safe for children, down from 84% in May 2020. The survey of 1,143 adults has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Does lower trust mean vaccination rates will fall?
Not necessarily, because a poll measures opinion and cannot predict individual decisions. Kindergarten MMR coverage has already declined, however, from 95.2% in 2019-2020 to 92.4% in 2025-2026.
How many measles cases has the U.S. reported this year?
The CDC reported 3,294 confirmed cases as of Sept. 10, 2026. That is more than the 2,289 cases recorded in all of 2025.
Who faces the highest risk from measles?
Unvaccinated people, including infants too young for the vaccine, face the greatest risk of infection. Pregnant people who are not immune and people with weakened immune systems are among those at higher risk of serious complications.
How effective is the MMR vaccine?
The CDC says two doses are 97% effective at preventing measles and one dose is 93% effective. Breakthrough infections can occur but are uncommon.
What should parents do now?
Check vaccination records with a pediatrician or state registry, and schedule any missing doses. If measles symptoms appear after an exposure, call ahead before going to a clinic.
