Most Americans aren’t worried about measles, despite the ongoing outbreak, according to a new poll

There have been more than 500 reported measles cases in the United States so far in 2025, more than almost any other full year since the start of the 21st century. But despite those numbers, and the nation’s first measles-related deaths in a decade, most Americans are not concerned about the disease, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

In a new survey of 1,677 U.S. adults, which was conducted from March 20 to 24, more than half of the respondents said they are either not very worried or not worried at all about measles. Just 9% said they are very worried. Only 15% of respondents have taken any action in response to the outbreak, such as talking to a doctor or wearing a mask in public.

The overwhelming majority of measles cases in the U.S., and both measles deaths, have been part of an ongoing outbreak in West Texas and eastern New Mexico. But there has been at least one reported case in 17 other states, including 23 in Kansas, nine in Oklahoma and eight in California.

Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known to science. Before a vaccine became available in the early 1960s, nearly all children in the U.S. became infected by the time they were 15 and between 400 and 500 people died every year. The vaccine has been so effective that measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, meaning that it no longer spreads continuously within the country.

See also: Measles outbreak FAQ: Do I need a vaccine booster? What do I do if I’ve been exposed? And what are the symptoms?

There have been a growing number of outbreaks in recent years, however, largely driven by an increase in vaccine skepticism. That’s true of the current outbreak as well. Of the 400 cases so far in Texas this year, only two were in people who had received both recommended doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The epicenter of the Texas outbreak is Gaines County, which has one of the lowest childhood vaccination rates in the state.

Despite the growth of the anti-vaccine movement, the survey shows that only a small minority of Americans hold strong views against vaccinating their children. When asked about several topics of vaccine misinformation — including that the measles vaccine can cause autism and that it is more dangerous than the disease itself — fewer than 15% of respondents said they agreed.

Measles is especially dangerous to children, particularly young children. It’s no surprise, then, that parents are much more likely to be concerned about the disease than the general public. In the poll, half of respondents with children said they were either somewhat (31%) or very (19%) worried about their kids contracting the virus.

The survey also asked parents about the vaccination status of their children. The sample sizes are too small to draw any broad conclusions, but the results suggest that the highest level of concern is among parents who plan to vaccinate their kids, but have not yet done so.

There is also a significant political divide guiding views on measles. More than four times as many Democrats than Republicans say they are very worried about the disease (18% to 4%). The partisan gap is much smaller among parents, however. Republicans are only slightly less likely to say they are very worried about their kids catching measles and nearly half of all GOP voters are at least somewhat worried. Self-identified independents are the least worried about the virus among parents, by a significant margin.

Some of the relatively low levels of concern may be tied to a general lack of awareness about the current state of measles in the U.S. Nearly 80% of respondents said they have only heard a little (57%) or had heard nothing at all (21%) about the ongoing outbreak.

That may change as case numbers continue to rise and spread to more parts of the country. But for now, measles is not a major concern for most Americans.