Americans see the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine as the safest and most effective of three common vaccines, and the COVID-19 vaccine as the least safe and effective, according to a study published Sept. 10 in the American Journal of Public Health.
Dror Walter, PhD, an associate professor of communication at Atlanta-based Georgia State University, and colleagues analyzed survey data collected in November 2024 from a national probability sample of 1,763 U.S. adults. The researchers examined how political party identification and views of science and scientists related to how people rated the MMR, flu and COVID-19 vaccines.
On a scale of 1 to 4, respondents gave the MMR vaccine a mean safety score of 3.54 and a mean effectiveness score of 3.63. The flu vaccine scored 3.41 for safety and 3.03 for effectiveness, and the COVID-19 vaccine scored 2.98 for safety and 2.81 for effectiveness.
The MMR vaccine’s high ratings may reflect Americans’ “familiarity and personal experience with the decades-old vaccine,” the researchers wrote, noting that more than 90% of the U.S. population has received it.
Republicans generally rated vaccines less favorably than Democrats did, especially the COVID-19 vaccine. Once the researchers adjusted for views of science, party identification was linked only to perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Believing science is beneficial was the factor most consistently tied to positive ratings for all three vaccines. Dr. Walter and his colleagues said messages stressing the concrete benefits of science and vaccines, tailored to an audience’s politics and concerns, may be the most effective way to address vaccine hesitancy.
View the full study here.
