Recently, a Washington Post article discussed some KFF polling data on U.S. attitudes towards vaccination. Most of the focus was on a huge partisan divide in willingness to get vaccinated for COVID, influenza, and RSV. But The Discourse missed what I think is the most critical part of the polling:

KFF’s headline really gets it wrong here since for MMR vaccination to be effective, we need at least 95% coverage. 87% just isn’t enough.

Hopefully, most of the missing thirteen percent of Republicans are simply delaying vaccination, which is still really fucking stupid because it puts kids at risk of childhood diseases that can kill or cripple them until they’re vaccinated. If they’re not though, and that’s more likely in those states with generous ‘religious’ exemptions, then we’ll be below the threshold needed to prevent widescale spread.

Anti-vaccinationism is a murderous grift, and shame on Republicans for embracing it so wholeheartedly.