Trump Orders Review of Childhood Vaccines, Calls for Fewer Shots and Separate MMR Doses
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing changes to childhood vaccine recommendations, including reducing the number of routine vaccines and examining whether measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines should be administered separately.
Trump said on Monday that his administration was adopting what he described as “gold standard” recommendations covering 11 core childhood vaccinations against serious diseases, down from the 18 currently recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
The vaccines included in the proposed core schedule protect against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV) and chickenpox.
“Decades ago, children received only a small fraction of the vaccines required today,” Trump said, arguing that children were healthier at the time and that high autism rates had not yet been observed.
Trump has repeatedly questioned the safety of the MMR vaccine and suggested that administering the three vaccines together could be dangerous. When asked to provide evidence for his claim that the combined vaccine could be “quite lethal,” he said it was based on what he had heard.
However, health authorities and multiple scientific studies have found no evidence linking MMR vaccination to autism.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says most people who receive the MMR vaccine do not experience serious problems and that vaccination is significantly safer than contracting measles, mumps or rubella.
The CDC also says there is no published scientific evidence showing a benefit from separating the combined MMR vaccine into three individual shots.
Health experts have warned that separating doses could increase the period during which children remain vulnerable to the diseases and could also result in missed appointments and incomplete vaccination.
Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said the proposed changes were intended to give parents greater choice rather than restrict access to vaccines.
The executive order also calls for research into alternatives to aluminium used in some vaccines and an assessment of whether such alternatives would be safer or more effective.
The AAP, however, said there are no significant health risks associated with the small quantities of aluminium salts used in vaccines. The organisation said the substances have been used for decades to strengthen the body’s immune response.
The order has drawn criticism from medical experts and some Republicans. Dr Andrew Racine, president of the AAP, described it as “dangerous” and said it was not based on “gold-standard science.”
“Delaying or skipping shots is risky, especially as measles continues to spread and children go back to school,” Racine said.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician who played a decisive role in Kennedy’s confirmation as health secretary, also criticised the move, saying Trump did not have the medical expertise required to make such changes.
“Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism,” Cassidy said.
The CDC currently recommends two doses of the combined MMR vaccine for children, with the first dose given between 12 and 15 months and the second between four and six years of age.
A 2019 Danish study involving more than 657,000 children found no evidence that the MMR vaccine caused or triggered autism. Other studies have reached similar conclusions.
Experts have warned that renewed concerns over a discredited link between vaccines and autism could discourage parents from vaccinating their children, potentially increasing the risk of outbreaks of preventable diseases such as measles.
Trump’s executive order serves as federal guidance rather than a direct mandate, as vaccination requirements for school attendance are determined by individual states.
