KFF: What Parents Think about Vaccines

October 13, 2025

A large majority of U.S. parents support vaccination for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and polio, but their views on seasonal flu and COVID-19 shots are much less uniform, according to a new report.

The survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and The Washington Post investigates parents’ views about vaccines and their go-to sources for information. It comes as recommendations from the nation’s federal health agencies have diverged with other leading national medical organizations.

“Despite trusting a variety of information sources, few parents report difficulty understanding the vaccine schedule for their children and why they should get them vaccinated,” the report noted.

Among the key takeaways:

• Public health resource:  Over 80 percent of parents indicated public schools should require vaccines for measles and polio (allowing for medical/religious exceptions).
• Less support:  Fewer parents reported confidence in the COVID-19 and seasonal flu vaccines, with just 43 percent and 65 percent expressing confidence in their safety, respectively.
• Skipping shots:  About 16 percent of parents reported skipping a recommended vaccination for their children for a variety of reasons (concerns about side effects and vaccine safety, and not believing all the recommend vaccines are necessary).
• Reliable sources:  Parents trust pediatricians the most for vaccine information, with 85 percent indicating they trust their child’s doctor “a great deal” or a “fair amount.”
  • Local health departments were next highest for trust, with 64 percent of parents indicating they trusted them at least a fair amount or a great deal.
• Quotable:   “Across parties, large majorities of parents see the MMR and polio vaccines as important for children in their communities and are confident in their safety, but opinions on flu vaccines and especially COVID-19 vaccines are more mixed and sharply divided along partisan lines,” the report notes.

See the news release and report online.