I found this really interesting. Maybe you will, too.
According to a recent Reason-Rupe national telephone poll, six in 10 Americans believe children should be required to get vaccinations for childhood diseases like measles, mumps, and whooping cough. Thirty-seven percent think parents should be able to decide whether or not to vaccinate their kids.
A small majority of Americans, 52 percent, says unvaccinated children should be banned from attending public schools while 44 percent think kids who haven't been immunized should be permitted to attend public schools.
Seventy percent of African-Americans think childhood vaccines should be required, compared to six in 10 Whites, and 52 percent of Hispanics. Similarly, African-Americans (63 percent) are more likely than Whites (52 percent) and Hispanics (43 percent) to think unimmunized children should not be permitted to attend public schools.
The Reason-Rupe poll interviewed 1,004 adults from October 1-6, 2014. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. Princeton Survey Research Associates International, the same firm that does the Pew polls, executed the nationwide survey.
For more information and resources, log onto http://reason.com/poll
Let me know what you think.
Kristen Kelley
Communications Specialist, Reason Foundation
443.722.5592
kristen.kelley@reason.org
Vaccination Poll Questions:
When it comes to childhood diseases, like measles, mumps, and whooping cough, should all children be required to get vaccinations or should parents be able to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children?
All children should be required to be vaccinated 60%
Parents should be able to decide not to vaccinate 37%
Don't Know/Refused 3%
Total 100%
Should children who have NOT been vaccinated from diseases like measles, mumps, and whooping cough be allowed or not allowed to attend public schools?
Allowed 44%
Not Allowed 52%
Don't Know 3%
Refused 1%
Total 100%
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