Americans are increasingly deciding not to get their children vaccinated, even after the 2023 flu season saw a record number of children die from the virus.

Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that from the start of the flu season until the first week of December this year, nearly 143 million flu vaccines were distributed. During that same time period in 2023, 153.6 million vaccines were distributed, down from a high of 171 million vaccines distributed during the Covid pandemic in 2021.

The centers also report that fewer children are being vaccinated. As of December 14 this year, 42 percent of children aged six months to 17 years had received a vaccine, down from 44.7 percent in the previous year and from 53.7 percent during the same period in the 2019-2020 season, prior to the pandemic.

The drop in the number of Americans getting vaccinated comes as polls have found that more people say they believe vaccines are more dangerous than the disease they aim to prevent. A Gallup poll in 2019 found 11 percent of Americans said vaccines were more dangerous than the disease. In 2024, that number jumped to 20 percent. 

Fewer Americans are also saying that they think it is important for parents to have their children vaccinated. In 2001, 94 percent of respondents told Gallup that it was “extremely” or “very” important for children to be vaccinated. In 2024, 69 percent of Americans said the same. 

That sentiment is divided by political party affiliation. In 2002, 62 percent of Republicans said it was “extremely” or “very” important for children to be vaccinated. In 2024, Republican support dropped to 26 percent. In 2002, 66 percent of Democrats said childhood vaccinations were important while 63 percent agreed in 2024. 

The reluctance follows much skepticism over the value of the Covid shots that Americans were mostly mandated to get, even as children were determined to be less reactive to the virus than older Americans. 

Days before the 2024 election, Vice President-elect Vance raised concerns about the side effects of vaccines, telling podcaster Joe Rogan about his own experience getting the Covid vaccination. 

“We’re not even allowed to talk about the fact that I was as sick as I’ve ever been for two days, and the worst Covid experience I had was like a sinus infection. I’m not really willing to trade that,” he said. 

In September, Florida’s surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, discouraged the use of mRNA Covid vaccines for adults over 65 as he raised concerns about their safety. Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Health, Emma Herrock, said earlier this month that the department is “shifting away from one-size-fits-all paternalistic guidance” of recommending Covid or flu vaccines. 

While the percentage of parents getting their children vaccinated for the flu has decreased, the number of children who died from influenza ticked up to 200 last year, exceeding the 199 deaths recorded in 2019-2020. So far this flu season, 23,000 people of all ages have been hospitalized because of the flu.

Skepticism about vaccine safety is not solely focused on seasonal flu vaccines but also on childhood vaccinations for measles, mumps, and rubella. In 2015, then-candidate Trump publicly discussed what has been largely considered a fringe conspiracy theory — that combination vaccines for children may be responsible for autism. 

“Just the other day, two years old, two and a half years old, a child, a beautiful child, went to have the vaccine and came back, and a week later got a tremendous fever, got very, very sick, now is autistic,” Trump said during a primary debate. 

Scientists have repeatedly tried to tamp down such theories, saying the scientific link between vaccines and autism has been thoroughly debunked. They point to other explanations for the uptick in the diagnosis over the last two decades, including changes in the screening process and an expansion of the definition of autism. 

However, with Trump tapping vaccine opponent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, more debate lies ahead. For his part, Trump has not committed to eliminating childhood vaccines, saying he would look into ending vaccination programs if “I think they are not beneficial.”