Nicolai Haugsted
Trump reshapes childhood vaccine recommendations as doctors warn of consequences.
President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order aimed at overhauling childhood vaccination recommendations in the United States, drawing immediate criticism from pediatricians and vaccine experts who argue the proposed changes are not supported by medical evidence.
The order calls for a smaller list of routinely recommended childhood vaccines and encourages several immunizations to be spread across multiple doctor visits rather than administered according to the current schedule.
According to the White House, the revised schedule recommends routine vaccinations against 11 diseases instead of the 18 included in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2024 guidance.
Among the most notable changes is a recommendation to separate the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three individual injections administered during different appointments. However, separate versions of those vaccines are not licensed or available in the United States, according to the CDC.
Several vaccines, including those for COVID-19, influenza and rotavirus, would reportedly move away from routine recommendations, while others would primarily be advised for high-risk groups.
Experts question the science
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said the proposed schedule reflects long-standing views promoted by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“[It] doesn’t make sense. Everybody’s at risk,” he says to The Huffpost.
Offit also disputed suggestions that spacing out vaccines would place less strain on children’s immune systems. He argued that modern vaccines expose children to far fewer immunological challenges than vaccines administered decades ago despite protecting against more diseases.
He also criticized the administration’s description of its approach as the “Gold Standard.”
“What he really means is: I’m going to try and force studies to fit my fixed, immutable belief that vaccines cause harm, and then I’m going to market them by calling it the ‘Gold Standard.'”
Doctors warn of confusion
The executive order does not replace recommendations from the CDC or its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and Offit said families should not expect immediate changes during pediatric visits because insurance companies are expected to continue covering vaccines under existing policies.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also voiced concerns, warning that the proposal could create unnecessary confusion for parents.
AAP President Dr. Andrew Racine argued that requiring more appointments to complete childhood vaccinations would make it harder for families to keep children fully immunized.
“The more visits you have to do, the more time you have to take off, the more you have to take children out of school. This is just going to make it more and more difficult for people to get the vaccines that they need.”
The White House referred questions about the executive order to President Trump’s remarks made earlier in the Oval Office.
