A new Emory poll shows strong trust in routine immunizations, highlighting a gap between national policy debates and family-level decision-making.
Georgia parents, it turns out, are not wavering much. Even as federal vaccine guidance shifts and public debate grows louder, a large majority of families across the state continue to back routine childhood immunizations and trust their pediatricians to guide them through the noise.
That is the clear takeaway from a newly released poll by the Emory Center for Child Health Policy, published just days after a major change to federal recommendations on newborn Hepatitis B vaccinations.
Poll data shows steady confidence among families
The Emory survey questioned more than 1,000 parents across Georgia, offering one of the clearest snapshots yet of how families feel amid national vaccine debates.
The numbers are striking.
Eighty-seven percent of parents said they believe routine childhood vaccines are safe. An even higher share, 93 percent, said they trust their child’s doctor when making vaccine decisions.
That trust appears stable, even as headlines and social media posts raise doubts and questions.
One short detail matters here. The poll did not show a sharp divide by geography or political leaning, something researchers say is notable given how polarized vaccine discussions have become elsewhere.
In Georgia, at least for now, pediatricians remain the anchor.
A federal shift revives old questions
The timing of the poll adds another layer.
Just days earlier, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 8–3 to end its universal recommendation that all newborns receive the Hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Under the new guidance, only babies born to mothers who test positive for Hepatitis B are advised to get the shot immediately.
This marks a significant departure from more than three decades of policy.
That earlier approach helped drive childhood Hepatitis B infections in the U.S. to extremely low levels. Many public health experts consider it one of the quiet success stories of modern medicine.
Dr. Stephen Patrick, director of the Emory Center for Child Health Policy, worries the change could send mixed signals to parents.
Some arguments, he said, sound reasonable on the surface. If a mother tests negative, why vaccinate right away?
The problem is that reality is messier.
People can become infected after testing. Babies can be exposed by caregivers or family members. Hepatitis B spreads easily, and infants are especially vulnerable.
Patrick put it bluntly in interviews following the poll. The disease does not wait for policy debates to settle.
Confusion grows around insurance and access
One lesser-known finding from the survey may carry serious consequences.
Many Georgia parents, especially those with lower incomes, do not realize that insurance coverage often tracks federal vaccine guidance closely.
In simple terms, when ACIP changes its recommendations, insurers tend to follow.
That can mean families suddenly face out-of-pocket costs for vaccines that were once fully covered.
The poll suggests this link is poorly understood. Parents may assume a vaccine remains covered, only to discover otherwise at the doctor’s office.
Patrick said this is where policy decisions ripple outward. What happens in a committee meeting can end up shaping household budgets.
For families living paycheck to paycheck, even modest costs can become a barrier. History shows that when vaccines cost more, uptake drops.
That pattern worries researchers more than abstract debates about safety.
Why doctors still matter more than headlines
One sentence stands out in the data. Parents overwhelmingly trust their child’s doctor.
That trust appears to outweigh shifting federal guidance, cable news arguments, and social media claims.
Pediatricians, nurses, and family doctors remain the primary source of vaccine information for most Georgia parents.
Experts say that relationship is built over years. Well-child visits. Late-night phone calls. Reassurance during fevers and rashes.
It is not easily replaced by online sources.
The Emory poll suggests that even parents who have questions still want those questions answered in exam rooms, not comment sections.
That dynamic may help explain why Georgia’s vaccination rates have remained relatively steady compared with some other states.
A reminder of what prevention achieved
Patrick emphasized another point that often gets lost.
Many parents today have never seen the diseases vaccines prevent. Polio wards. Pediatric hepatitis cases. Children hospitalized with complications that are now rare.
Success breeds forgetfulness.
“These are diseases we could be rid of,” Patrick said, reflecting on decades of progress. “We forget what things were like.”
The poll’s findings suggest that while debates swirl, many parents instinctively grasp that vaccines played a role in making childhood healthier than it once was.
That instinct, researchers say, is worth paying attention to.
More data on the way as debate continues
The Emory Center for Child Health Policy plans to release additional findings through 2026 as part of its annual survey work.
Those future reports may shed light on how opinions shift, or hold, as federal guidance continues to evolve.
For now, the message from Georgia parents is relatively clear. They trust vaccines. They trust doctors. And they are trying to make sense of changing rules without losing sight of their children’s health.
