Vaccine skepticism has found a home in the post-pandemic GOP. And it’s not just related to the Covid shot.

Before 2020, polls showed little overall difference along partisan lines on issues related to vaccination, such as whether students should be inoculated against measles to attend public schools. But since Covid, Republican voters have diverged from everyone else.

A new POLITICO | Morning Consult poll, conducted as part of POLITICO’s ongoing series about the rising anti-vax movement, shows Republican voters are less likely than Democrats or independents to say vaccines are safe for children. It also shows that as many Republicans now say they care more about the risks of vaccines than they do about the health benefits.

The survey results underscore that as the number of voters more doubtful of vaccines has risen — despite scientific evidence that they’re safe and effective — it has come almost exclusively from one political party. While opposition to more established vaccines is still far from a majority position among Republicans, significant numbers question their safety and say Americans shouldn’t be […]