Trump signs order reducing recommended childhood vaccines

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that significantly alters the recommended childhood vaccination schedule, reducing it to 11 core immunizations. The directive also proposes splitting the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate doses administered at different medical visits.

This move reverses previous federal guidance and aligns with long-term goals of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal critic of universal vaccination recommendations. While the administration frames this as providing more flexibility and focusing on the most serious diseases, it has drawn criticism from medical professionals and vaccine manufacturers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and vaccine maker Merck have voiced opposition to the order. Public health experts warn that the established immunization schedule is based on decades of scientific evidence aimed at protecting children from serious illness and death. They argue that reducing the number of recommended vaccines could increase children's vulnerability to preventable diseases, a concern that scientists have repeatedly addressed when debunking claims linking vaccines to autism.

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Effective immediately, my administration is recognising gold standard childhood vaccine recommendations for only 11 core vaccinations against the most serious and dangerous diseases, along with the MMR, which hopefully will be split up.