President Donald Trump has signed an executive order advocating for a reduction in routine childhood vaccines to 11, falsely linking immunizations to autism. The order, which aligns with efforts led by vaccine skeptic HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also proposes splitting the MMR vaccine into separate doses despite scientific evidence debunking the autism claim and concerns from health experts about increased missed appointments.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order advocating for a reduced childhood vaccine schedule, specifically aiming to cut the number of recommended shots to just 11. This directive notably reasserts a false link between immunizations and autism, a claim widely debunked by decades of scientific evidence.
The order further solidifies the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to reshape national childhood vaccination policies, spearheaded by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic. Speaking on Monday, Trump stated that this "updated recommendation finally aligns the United States with other advanced and developed nations around the world" and, more critically, "aligns us with common sense and knowledge."
During his briefing, Trump repeatedly suggested a correlation between rising childhood vaccination rates and an increase in autism diagnoses, despite overwhelming scientific consensus refuting any such connection. He also called for the widely used measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) combination vaccine to be administered as three separate, single-disease shots over multiple doctor visits.
"The MMR we want to have separate visits, separate times. The vaccine being broken into three separate single doses and vaccines being administered in separate visits," Trump declared. The executive order also instructs the Department of Justice to scrutinize states' compliance with exemptions for childhood vaccine mandates, including those based on parental authority, disability accommodations, religious beliefs, and medical necessity.
This isn't the first instance of the administration targeting the MMR vaccine, or its four-component counterpart, MMRV (which includes varicella for chickenpox). Last year, a key advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notably weakened its recommendations for the MMRV shot for children under four.
However, many health experts caution that splitting combination vaccines into multiple appointments could elevate the risk of missed vaccinations and incomplete immunization schedules. While acknowledging the potential inconvenience of "five stops" for parents, Trump insisted it would be "something that I think will have a huge impact on autism." He also addressed concerns about multiple co-pays, stating, "we're going to work with the families" to manage costs, though he provided no specific details on how this would be achieved. The White House confirmed that any changes in vaccine recommendations would not impact insurance coverage.
This executive order emerges amidst the U.S. experiencing its most severe year for measles infections in over three decades, with childhood vaccination rates having declined since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
