Republican Support for Key Childhood Vaccines Is Backsliding

Republican support for mainstay childhood vaccinations like the measles, mumps and rubella shot is waning, though vaccines remain broadly popular, according to data from Pew Research Center published Tuesday.

Only 78% of Republicans in an October survey said the benefits of the MMR shot outweigh the risks. In 2016, 91% of Republicans gave the same answer. Democrats still overwhelmingly support the shot, with 92% saying the benefits are greater than the risks, Pew found.

Republicans are far less likely to say vaccines are highly effective, have been tested enough and that the childhood vaccine schedule is safe. That reticence has ...