Trump pushes overhaul of US childhood vaccine policy
In an executive order, President Trump calls for fewer recommended childhood vaccinations and more spacing between shots. Medical experts warn the changes lack scientific backing
In an executive order, President Trump calls for fewer recommended childhood vaccinations and more spacing between shots. Medical experts warn the changes lack scientific backing and could leave children less protected. US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order seeking sweeping changes to childhood vaccine policy, including fewer recommended immunizations and more separate appointments for children to receive them. The order calls for the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, known as MMR, to be separated into three single-disease shots. It also advocates administering childhood immunizations at separate medical visits whenever possible. A healthcare worker prepares an MMR vaccination at a health center in Texas [FILE: April 8, 2025] Image: Annie Rice/AP Photo/picture alliance Trump described the move as a "major victory for parents rights, religious and constitutional rights, and for the gold standard science." What changes does Trump want for childhood vaccines? The order says the federal government will support 11 core childhood vaccinations and advises states and territories to review vaccine requirements for school enrollment. However, Washington cannot directly determine most school vaccine mandates, which are largely set by individual states. On those requirements, Trump's order is therefore primarily a recommendation. The order also directs the Health and Human Services Department to improve vaccine research and develop a plan to make separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines available in the US.
Such single-antigen vaccines are not currently licensed there. US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long questioned established vaccine recommendations and a disproven link between vaccines and autism Image: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA/picture alliance Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had already sought in January to remove vaccines against six of 17 diseases from the childhood schedule. A federal judge later blocked those changes while legal proceedings continue. Monday's order reaffirms much of that overhaul. Why do experts oppose spacing out vaccines? Public health experts say childhood vaccination schedules are based on extensive research into when and how vaccines can safely be administered together. Safety monitoring continues after vaccines are introduced. They warn that spreading shots across more appointments can leave children vulnerable to preventable diseases for longer and increase the risk that later doses are delayed or missed. Vaccine maker Merck said there was no published scientific evidence showing any benefit from splitting the MMR vaccine. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, estimated that developing and approving separate vaccines in the US could take more than a decade. "We're advising that you continue to give children a vaccine that has decades of safety data," said Aaron M. Milstone, a member of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases.
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