Trump Signs Order Seeking Changes to Childhood Vaccine Schedule

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday aimed at changing the federal government’s recommendations for childhood vaccinations, including reducing the number of vaccines recommended for all children and spreading immunizations over a longer period.

The order divides childhood vaccines into three categories and calls for some vaccines to be recommended primarily for children considered at higher risk.

Under the new policy, vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, pneumococcal disease, HPV and chickenpox would remain recommended for all children.

Vaccines for hepatitis A and B, meningococcal disease, dengue and RSV would generally be recommended for higher-risk children. Other vaccines, including those for influenza, rotavirus, COVID-19 and some meningococcal diseases, would involve shared decision-making between parents and health care providers.

The order also calls for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, commonly known as the MMR shot, to be separated into three individual vaccines.

Trump said the changes would allow children to receive vaccines over several visits rather than receiving multiple immunizations at once. He also made claims about the amount of vaccine administered to children that are not supported by scientific evidence.

The order has drawn criticism from medical experts and some Republican lawmakers.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, a physician, criticized the order, saying vaccines are safe and effective and warning that separating vaccines could require children to receive more shots rather than fewer.

The changes follow months of efforts by the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to overhaul the nation's childhood vaccine recommendations.

Medical groups previously challenged changes to the federal vaccine schedule in court, with a judge ruling against the administration's revised recommendations.

Health experts have also repeatedly said extensive scientific research has found no evidence that vaccines cause autism.

The administration says it plans to work with states to encourage changes to vaccine requirements based on the new federal recommendations.

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