(Reuters) -Republicans and Democrats are divided along party lines as to whether they believe the U.S. government’s claim that women who take Tylenol during pregnancy are raising the risk of autism in their unborn children, a new poll from KFF found.
The poll showed that about 57% of Republicans and 12% of Democrats said the claim was definitely or probably true. About 43% of Republicans and 86% of Democrats said it was probably or definitely false.
The poll was conducted in the week after President Trump, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other health officials held a White House event in which they announced they would add a warning to the label of Tylenol.
The warning is being added despite no proven causal link between Kenvue’s Tylenol and autism. Medical groups have cautioned that avoiding the drug during pregnancy could pose other health risks.
About 77% of adults said they had heard the claim. About 4% of adults said that claim was “definitely true,” while 35% said it was “definitely false.”
Everyone else fell into what KFF called a “malleable middle,” with equal shares saying it is “probably true” or “probably false.”
6 IN 10 DISAPPROVE OF VACCINE POLICY
The poll also highlighted growing divisions over vaccine policy. Around six in 10 adults disapproved of Kennedy’s handling of U.S. vaccine policy. About 69% of Republicans and only 11% of Democrats approved his actions.
Kennedy, a long-time anti-vaccine activist before taking on the nation’s top health post, has also linked vaccines to autism. He fired all members of the national vaccine advisory board of outside experts and replaced them with new members, many of whom shared his views.
Public trust in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has fallen to 50%, its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, the poll found. The majority said they trust doctors and physician groups such as the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics.
As Florida moves to end school vaccine mandates, 70% of parents oppose removing such requirements, though nearly half of Republican parents support the change, the poll showed.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
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