‘We’re reducing them’: Trump targets childhood vaccine schedule, pushes separate MMR jabs
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to reduce the number of recommended childhood vaccines and separate combination shots like the MMR vaccine. Public health experts have criticized the move, warning it could undermine immunization efforts and leave children vulnerable to disease.
Why it matters
This policy shift represents a major change in federal health guidance and revives long-standing, scientifically debunked debates regarding vaccine safety.
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order seeking sweeping changes to the country’s childhood vaccination recommendations, including reducing the number of vaccines routinely recommended for children and separating combination shots into multiple appointments.The order calls for childhood immunisations to be given at separate medical visits “to the maximum extent feasible” and directs the US government to work towards making individual measles, mumps and rubella vaccines available. The move revives Trump’s long-standing claims about vaccine safety and autism, despite decades of research finding no evidence of a link between childhood vaccines and autism.The changes have drawn strong criticism from doctors and public health experts, who warn that spacing out vaccinations could leave children vulnerable to preventable diseases and make it harder for families to complete recommended immunisation schedules.
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