According to the 12th annual Texas Lyceum Poll released this week, most Texans polled believe the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks.

Texas map Image/Urban
Texas map
Image/Urban

Seventy-six percent of people polled believe in the benefits of getting children vaccinated against diseases is greater than any perceived risks.

Despite the poll results, Texas still has one of the highest rates of unvaccinated children in the U.S. partly due to a 2013 state law allowing parents to opt out of getting their children immunized for medical reasons or conscientious and religious beliefs.

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While a clear majority agree that healthy children should be vaccinated against diseases like measles, mumps, rubella and other required immunization shots to attend public school, a sizable minority of Texans say that the risks of vaccines outweigh the benefits (13 percent) and that parents should be able to opt out of vaccinating their children (16 percent).

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