Child Measles Vaccination Debate, News: Vaccines A 'Matter of Public Health,' No Politics Involved – Poll

Political differences do not matter when it comes to the issue of childhood vaccinations, a new poll involving 1,000 American adults as respondents showed.

The results of the poll conducted by HuffPost/YouGov showed that most Americans regardless of political party affiliation see childhood vaccinations as safe and necessary.

The survey was held from Feb. 2 to 4 and had a -4.1 percent margin of error.

Seventy percent of the respondents think vaccinating children is "a matter of public health." Categorized politically, 77 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of Republicans, and 65 percent of independents expressed this opinion.

Only 22 percent of respondents think vaccination for children is "a matter of personal choice."

"I'm encouraged by the general bipartisan agreement that vaccines are a matter of public health and have a strong scientific basis," said Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth College who earlier expressed concerns that the debate could end up making vaccination a political issue.

At least 70 percent of respondents in both 45 to 64 and 65 plus age brackets believe the issue is a matter of public health, higher than the at least 60 percent of poll participants in the 18 to 29 and 30 to 44 categories who have the same opinion.

Fifty-nine percent of Americans think the science supporting the safety of giving vaccines to children is "indisputable," with over 60 percent of both Democrats and Republicans believing this.

When it comes to trusting the government in terms of setting vaccination policies, only 16 percent said they have "a great deal of confidence" in such.

Forty-four percent of Democrats and 34 percent of independents said they have "a fair amount" of confidence in the policies while 38 percent of Republicans said "not very much."

Majority of the respondents also say measles pose a bigger threat to Americans than Ebola did last year (51 percent versus 34 percent). Just 21 percent know anyone who has decided not to vaccinate their own children against childhood diseases like measles, mumps, and whooping cough.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul drew criticism last week for making vaccination look like an issue of choice.

Within the day, Christie's spokesperson clarified that the politician "believes vaccines are an important health protection, and with a disease like measles there is no question kids should be vaccinated."

Paul, meanwhile, blamed the media for making him look like he opposes vaccination. He even asked a New York Times reporter to watch him get a Hepatitis A booster shot.

Other Republicans, such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), expressed support for vaccination programs.

"There is a lot of fear mongering out there on this," Jindal said. "I think it is irresponsible for leaders to undermine the public's confidence in vaccinations that have been tested and proven to protect public health."

At the state level, the bipartisan divide is evident, but not always. While Democrats have backed bills to toughen vaccine regulations in California, Minnesota, Maine, and other states, a New York Democrat added a "'philosophical' exemption case," like the amendment of a Montana Republican to add the state to the ranks allowing parents to decide not to vaccinate their children based on "personal beliefs." Republicans from Colorado also filed a bill giving parents more space to decide on issues such as vaccinations.

"So far, it's not shaping up to be a partisan issue, and I hope it never does," said California state Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), a pediatrician who co-authored a bill to end California's religious and personal-belief exemptions.

Pan said it is still too early to tell who will support the measure, but he expressed hope both parties will back the legislation. "There are many things we can have differences of opinion about in deciding what our policies are, but this one should be pretty straightforward."