Americans Think Unvaccinated Children Will Cause Health Problems for Others

Many children across the country headed back to school this week, and vaccinations are just one part of the back-to-school check list. Most Americans report their children are up-to-date on their vaccinations, but a new poll shows more than half of Americans have concerns about the safety of vaccinations.

The Rasmussen Reports poll showed 52 percent of Americans say they are at least somewhat concerned about the safety of vaccinations for their children, including 28 percent who say they are very concerned. Forty-four percent said they were not as concerned about childhood vaccines.

But although Americans have concerns about the safety of vaccines, the worry is greater for the effect that children who do not receive all of their vaccines may have on other children. Seventy-six percent believe it's likely that children who do not receive all their health vaccinations will cause health problems for other children. Only 18 percent don't see that scenario happening.

The survey of 1,000 American adults was conducted Aug. 28-29. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence.