Poll: 83 percent say vaccines are safe

A large majority of the public, with no partisan difference, says that vaccines are safe for children, according to a Pew poll released Monday. 

{mosads}The poll reports that 83 percent say vaccinations, such as those for measles, mumps and rubella, are safe, which is in line with the science on the issue. Nine percent say they are not safe. Another 7 percent say they don’t know. 

Eighty-nine percent of Republicans and 87 percent of Democrats say the vaccines are safe, a difference within the poll’s margin of error. 

The poll comes after the debate over vaccinations flared up among likely Republican presidential contenders. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) suggested last week that parents should have some choice in the decision to vaccinate their children, igniting criticism. 

While there is no meaningful difference between members of the two parties on the issue, there is one based on education. 

College graduates are the most likely to say vaccines are safe, at 92 percent. That falls slightly to 85 percent among those with some college and to 77 percent among those with a high school degree or less.

Young people are the most skeptical of vaccines, with 77 percent of those ages 18-29 saying they are safe, compared to more than 80 percent for other age groups.

Measles has returned to the national scene, with 121 cases in 17 states since Jan. 1, centered on an outbreak at Disneyland in California.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the majority of the cases were among people who were not vaccinated.