KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: Update on Common Vaccine Myths Authors: Alex Montero, Grace Sparks, Julian Montalvo III, Ashley Kirzinger, and Liz Hamel Published: Jun 30, 2026

https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/kff-tracking-poll-on-health-information-and-trust-update-on-common-vaccine-myths/?utm_campaign=KFF-This-Week&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--Kuo_k6wwJd37--8IOdIwi50Kmrf0L0we8DnrzuE7Aj2vB6kIVlwZ3GT567yTCKnjEePkdapKTciHkFYybHHjBRG1W1g&_hsmi=427848216&utm_content=427848216&utm_source=hs_email With childhood vaccination rates in the U.S. continuing to decline as measles cases rise across the U.S., KFF’s latest Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust shows that several commonly circulated vaccine myths remain pervasive among the public. Many adults say they have heard false claims about the measles and COVID-19 vaccines, including that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines have been proven to cause autism in children (66%), that more people have died from the COVID-19 vaccines than the virus (46%), that mRNA vaccines can alter DNA (36%), or that measles vaccines are more dangerous than measles itself (29%).