Americans tend to believe Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s policies are making vaccines less available rather than more available. But the large majority of Americans feels government policy ought to make vaccines more available if people want them.
A sizable third haven’t heard or aren’t sure.
Also, there’s a wide view that government policy should encourage parents to vaccinate their children for diseases like measles, mumps and rubella, more specifically. Only a scant few think the government ought to discourage that.
Even as vaccines — particularly COVID vaccines — have sometimes been a political issue, this view on encouraging children’s vaccinations is true across party lines for the majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents. (That said, Republicans are less likely than Democrats to say outright encourage.)
There are differences by education levels: Those with college degrees are more likely to say it should encourage vaccination than those without degrees.
Much the same is true for COVID-19 vaccines, specifically: Most Democrats, Republicans, and independents say COVID vaccines should be available to people who want them. (Whether or not they would get one themselves.)
The difference in policy perception is connected to differences in approval of RFK Jr’s job handling: Those who think he is making vaccines less available overwhelmingly disapprove of his job performance. Those who say he has not changed vaccine policy or made them more available are approving.
It’s similar for those planning, or not planning, to get flu or COVID shots this winter. Those planning to get one are overwhelmingly disapproving; those not planning to get one are approving.
All that leads to something of a slightly net-negative job approval. It’s also highly partisan, with most Republicans approving.
For information on whether a vaccine is safe or not, Democrats are much more trusting of the FDA and CDC than are Republicans (even as Republicans are more approving of the HHS Secretary.) Americans overwhelmingly will trust their own doctor or medical professionals.
Americans tend to think ultra-processed foods are either unsafe or that it depends on the product. But those views are not as connected to RFK’s job approval.
This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,344 U.S. adults interviewed between August 29 – September 2, 2025. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.3 points.
