Multiple nationally representative surveys since 2023 show a broad, cross‑vaccine erosion of trust in the U.S., beyond just COVID‑19 shots.

• The Annenberg Public Policy Center found in 2023 that only 71% of adults say vaccines approved for use in the U.S. are safe—the lowest level since they began asking—while belief that vaccines are unsafe hit a series high. The same survey reported statistically significant declines in perceived safety or effectiveness for HPV, MMR, flu, COVID‑19, shingles, and pneumococcal vaccines, indicating a general, not single‑vaccine, drop in confidence. (aafp.org)
• A Washington Post–KFF poll reports that by 2024 just 69% of Americans thought childhood vaccines were important, down from 84% in 2019, and by 2025 1 in 6 parents had delayed or skipped routine childhood vaccinations (excluding flu and COVID‑19), with most citing safety concerns rather than access. (washingtonpost.com)
• Pew and KFF both find that while large majorities still say the benefits of MMR and other childhood vaccines outweigh the risks, support for requiring these shots for school attendance fell sharply (e.g., from ~82% in 2016/2019 to around 70% in the early‑ to mid‑2020s), driven mainly by Republicans; both organizations explicitly note that COVID‑19 vaccine debates and mandates have spilled over into attitudes about other vaccines. (pewresearch.org)
• CDC data show kindergarten coverage for MMR declined from 95.2% in 2019–20 to 92.5% in 2024–25, with exemptions rising and large measles outbreaks; coverage and experts attribute this in part to post‑COVID vaccine hesitancy and skepticism, not just logistical disruption. (reuters.com)
• A 2025 KFF tracking poll still finds strong majority confidence in the safety of routine vaccines like measles and flu, but also documents low trust in federal health agencies as vaccine information sources and widespread perceptions that these agencies are not paying enough attention to science, underscoring an ongoing trust erosion environment around vaccination generally. (kff.org)

Taken together, these trends show a measurable, broad decline in public trust and compliance with vaccination in general in the U.S. in the years following COVID‑19 vaccine policies, even though most Americans still accept core childhood vaccines. That matches Sacks’s prediction, so it is best judged as right.