Gallup poll finds childhood vaccinations considered not important as more Arkansas students are granted exemptions

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Students everywhere are returning to the classroom this week, and with it comes one of their biggest tests: that of their immune systems.

A new Gallup poll shows the percentage of Americans who believe parents vaccinating their children is “extremely important” has dropped to 40%, an 18% drop since 2019.

Joshua Hain, who lives in North Little Rock, gave one reason he thinks the drop happened.

“COVID created some strong opinions on vaccines in general,” Hain stated.

Data from the Arkansas Department of Education shows the number of students receiving immunization exemptions has grown from 615 to 9910 over the past 10 years. The largest jump was in 2016, but post-2020, a thousand more kids have received exemptions each year.

Sydnee Owens also lives in Little Rock and said she does not understand why parents would not believe childhood vaccinations are important.

“I feel like COVID kind of created a bad stigma about vaccinations which is kind of scary,” Owens said. “I feel like exemptions would be harder to get I guess.”

Dr. Robert Hopkins is a professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at UAMS. He says Arkansas has one of the lowest COVID vaccination rates in America and there has been a drop off in other vaccinations with it. The impact, he says is already being seen.

“We’ve seen more measles in the first half of this year than we saw in the last three years before that,” Dr. Hopkins explained. “We are at risk of having more emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases which could happen in any daycare, any school, any community.”

He would prescribe a talk with a family doctor if any vaccine gives a family doubt, but ultimately it’s up to each Arkansan to decide for their family.

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