Department of Health Policy & Management, School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, TAMU 1266, 212 Adriance Lab Rd, College Station, TX 77843, United States.
Vaccine. 2023 Nov 22;41(48):7103-7115. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.10.016. Epub 2023 Oct 17.
Vaccination mandates have long been an effective tool in increasing vaccination rates and reducing the potential for disease outbreaks. In the wake of COVID-19, opposition to mandates in the K-12 setting has garnered more attention, and policymakers opposed to them have become more active. This study sought to assess whether these efforts are supported by the U.S. public.
We fielded a large, national survey (N = 16,461) from January to April of 2022 to assess U.S. public opinion about seven specific vaccination mandates (diphtheria, tetanus, & pertussis (DTaP); polio; chickenpox; measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR); hepatitis; human papillomavirus (HPV); and COVID-19) in K-12 educational settings.
We found that Americans are overwhelmingly supportive of all vaccination mandates with support ranging from a high 90 percent of respondents for DTaP, polio, chickenpox, and MMR to a low of 68 percent for COVID-19. Individuals who deemed vaccines safe and important, those with trust in the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, urban residents, and ethnic and racial minorities tended to be consistently more supportive. Perceptions about vaccine effectiveness were positively associated with mandate support in most cases, as was trust in medical doctors. Respondents who believed that vaccines cause autism, those with better health and more trust in religious leaders tended to be consistently more opposed. Women were generally more supportive of mandates except for HPV and COVID-19. Ideology and partisanship affected opinion for COVID-19 as did trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We found no effects for income or education.
Vaccination mandates in K-12 have broad support among the American public, even in more controversial cases such as HPV and COVID-19. Vocal opposition and growing interest by policymakers to limit or undo vaccination mandates are not supported by the broader public.
疫苗接种授权长期以来一直是提高疫苗接种率和减少疾病爆发的有效工具。在 COVID-19 之后，K-12 环境中对授权的反对引起了更多关注，反对它们的政策制定者也变得更加活跃。本研究旨在评估这些努力是否得到美国公众的支持。
我们在 2022 年 1 月至 4 月期间进行了一项大规模的全国性调查（N=16461），以评估美国公众对 K-12 教育环境中七种特定疫苗接种授权（白喉、破伤风和百日咳（DTaP）；脊髓灰质炎；水痘；麻疹、腮腺炎和风疹（MMR）；肝炎；人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）；和 COVID-19）的意见。
我们发现，美国人绝大多数支持所有疫苗接种授权，支持率从 DTaP、脊髓灰质炎、水痘和 MMR 的高 90%到 COVID-19 的低 68%不等。认为疫苗安全且重要、对美国国立卫生研究院和美国食品和药物管理局信任、城市居民以及族裔和少数民族的人往往更一致地支持。在大多数情况下，对疫苗有效性的看法与授权支持呈正相关，对医生的信任也是如此。认为疫苗会导致自闭症、健康状况较好且更信任宗教领袖的人往往更一致地反对。除 HPV 和 COVID-19 外，女性通常更支持授权。意识形态和党派关系对 COVID-19 的看法产生了影响，对疾病控制和预防中心的信任也是如此。我们没有发现收入或教育水平的影响。
在 K-12 中，疫苗接种授权得到了美国公众的广泛支持，即使在 HPV 和 COVID-19 等更具争议的情况下也是如此。反对意见的声音和政策制定者越来越感兴趣地限制或撤销疫苗接种授权，这并没有得到更广泛的公众支持。
