A new poll suggests that many Americans remain uncertain about vaccine myths, which suggests opportunities to counter vaccine misinformation. CIDRAP has the news.

The poll includes a nationally representative sample of nearly 2,500 U.S. adults and was conducted May 7 through May 31. One of the findings was that "two-thirds of adults (66%) have heard the false claim that MMR vaccines have been proven to cause autism in children" despite growing numbers of measles outbreaks in the country over the past two years.

Additionally, nearly half of adults have heard the claim that "more people have died from COVID vaccines than from the virus itself, and 36% have heard that mRNA vaccines can alter a person's DNA." Fewer than 1 in 10 adults said they "firmly believed" any of these myths, however. 

Those who belong to groups somewhere in the middle between believing and disbelieving all of the myths firmly include higher numbers of "Hispanic and Black adults, Republicans, people without a college degree, and younger adults." The poll also found a strong association between "trust in healthcare providers and vaccine attitudes, with adults who have a provider they trust being less likely to believe vaccine myths."