Republican lawmakers were presented this week with polling that found strong support for vaccines among voters who backed former President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The findings, shared in a closed-door meeting Wednesday with staffers for GOP senators on the Senate Finance Committee, were outlined in a memo dated Aug. 26 and obtained by NBC News.
Conducted by veteran Republican pollsters Tony Fabrizio and Bob Ward, the survey concluded that “there is broad unity across party lines supporting vaccines such as measles (MMR), shingles, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (TDAP), and Hepatitis B.”
Ward confirmed the authenticity of the memo but declined to discuss the meeting. It remains unclear who commissioned the poll or organized the briefing. A source close to the White House said the administration did not request it.
The polling results surfaced just one day before Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced pointed questioning at a Senate Finance Committee hearing Thursday. Senators pressed Kennedy on vaccine policy decisions, including the dismissal of newly confirmed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez and restrictions on the rollout of updated Covid-19 shots.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a key vote in Kennedy’s confirmation, has recently criticized the secretary’s actions. Cassidy objected to Kennedy’s cancellation of $500 million in grants for mRNA research and the removal of all members of a major vaccine advisory panel. After Monarez’s ouster, Cassidy called for stronger oversight and urged that the next vaccine advisory meeting be delayed indefinitely.
At Thursday’s hearing, Cassidy pressed Kennedy on whether he supported vaccines, referencing Trump’s Operation Warp Speed initiative and reports of limited access to updated Covid doses. “You’re denying people vaccine,” Cassidy said.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) also voiced concerns. “Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings, you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines. Since then, I’ve grown deeply concerned,” Barrasso said, citing recent measles outbreaks and uncertainty surrounding federal vaccine leadership.
The Fabrizio-Ward poll found that two-thirds of Trump voters and more than 80 percent of swing voters believe vaccines should remain free of charge. Trust in doctors and nurses for vaccine information was high across the board, including among 76 percent of Trump voters. Nearly three-quarters of Trump voters, along with 83 percent of swing voters, agreed that vaccines save lives.
However, the survey also underscored partisan divides over Covid vaccines. Just 22 percent of Trump voters said it is important to receive Covid shots. The memo cautioned Republicans not to conflate that skepticism with opposition to all vaccines.
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