Vaccines - Research and Data from KFF

Better Prompting May Help Reduce AI Hallucinations, False Vaccine Claims Spread, and Industrial Solvent Promoted as Hidden Cancer Cure — The Monitor

Aug 28, 2025

Feature

This volume examines how prompting techniques can reduce incorrect medical information from AI chatbots; false claims linking vaccines to sudden infant death syndrome; the promotion of an industrial solvent as an allegedly suppressed cancer cure; misunderstandings about the risks of overdose from fentanyl exposure; and ongoing myths about sunscreen safety.

Drew Altman, KFF President and CEP is quoted on this card saying, "People are bewildered by a supercharged and polarized debate about vaccines and no longer know where to turn for scientific information they can rely on ... The vaccines are not the culprit—we and the state of our politics and the distrust in science and our scientific institutions they breed are."

The Problem Isn’t Trust in Vaccines, It’s That People Don’t Know Who to Trust

Aug 19, 2025

From Drew Altman

In a new “Beyond the Data” column, KFF’s President and CEO Dr. Drew Altman analyzes years of KFF polling on vaccines in light of the current controversies about them. The real problem, he says, is not lack of public confidence in the safety of vaccines — few say they are unsafe — it’s that polarization and misinformation have eroded confidence in what’s true or not, and in scientific institutions people used to rely on for the facts.

Quote image in red text with a red border on a white background reads: "As the debate over mRNA technology continues, public uncertainty about its safety is likely to persist and may even deepen the partisan divide...As the debate over mRNA technology continues, public uncertainty about its safety is likely to persist and may even deepen the partisan divide...As the debate over mRNA technology continues, public uncertainty about its safety is likely to persist and may even deepen the partisan divide." from Ashley Kirzinger

Halting mRNA Research Could Deepen the Public’s Distrust and Uncertainty about Vaccine Safety – with Potential Consequences

Aug 6, 2025

Quick Take

As the debate over mRNA technology continues, public uncertainty about its safety is likely to persist and may even deepen the partisan divide... as well as hinder any efforts to develop new vaccines in response to future pandemics, not to mention convince the public to take them.

Routine Vaccination Rates for Kindergarten Children Continue to Decline Across States

Kindergarten Routine Vaccination Rates Continue to Decline

Aug 5, 2025

Issue Brief

This issue brief provides an update on the latest trends in kindergarten children's routine vaccination and exemption rates. Over three-quarters (39) of states had measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)vaccination rates below the “target” rate of 95% for the 2024-2025 school year.

KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: COVID-19 Vaccine Update

Aug 1, 2025

Feature

As federal vaccine policy changes, this poll finds that most adults do not expect to get a COVID-19 vaccine this fall , and many parents are confused and uncertain about whether the vaccine is recommended for healthy children this year. About one in adults nationally say the changes to vaccine policy are making people safer, while more than a third say they are making people less safe.

Poll: While Most Adults Do Not Expect to Get a COVID-19 Shot This Fall, Those Who Want One Worry About Access and Insurance Coverage

Aug 1, 2025

News Release

As federal vaccine policy changes, most (59%) adults do not expect to get a COVID-19 vaccine this fall, while four in 10 (40%) say that they will “definitely” or “probably” get the shot, a new KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust finds.

Measles Elimination Status: What It Is and How the U.S. Could Lose It

Jul 28, 2025

Policy Watch

This policy watch post examines the United States’ measles elimination status, including what it means to eliminate measles, whether the current measles outbreak could threaten the country’s measles elimination status, and what losing that status might mean for measles control.

Where Americans Saw Information About Tax and Budget Legislation on Social Media, and False Measles Narratives Target Immigrants — The Monitor

Jul 24, 2025

Feature

This volume shares findings from KFF’s latest poll on how the public encountered information about the recently passed tax and budget legislation; misleading narratives blaming undocumented immigrants for the current measles outbreak; misrepresentations of vaccine safety systems; claims that climate change isn’t real following deadly Texas flooding; and confusion around statins for preventing heart disease.

How Does the Federal Government Monitor Vaccine Safety?

Jul 16, 2025

Issue Brief

This issue brief gives an overview of the main systems used by the federal government to track vaccine safety and adverse events following vaccinations. The brief reviews the history of federal vaccine safety systems, describes the key systems and their strengths and limitations, and also discusses how vaccine safety issues have become the subject of more scrutiny under the Trump administration.

Shifts in Funding Priorities and Vaccine Guidance Contribute to Safety Myths, Plus Reactions to Ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti — The Monitor

Jun 26, 2025

Feature

This volume examines how the cancellation of contracts to develop a bird flu vaccine and unfounded claims by new vaccine advisors reflect persistent myths about the safety of mRNA technology. It also explores false claims linking COVID-19 vaccines to miscarriage and analyzes how reactions to a Supreme Court ruling on gender-affirming care for minors highlights misconceptions and inflammatory language.

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