Trump Signs Order to Reduce Recommended Childhood Vaccines

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing a review of the country’s routine childhood vaccination schedule, calling for fewer recommended vaccines and separate administration of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shots.

According to CNBC, Trump signed the order on Monday as his administration moves to reshape the childhood immunisation schedule under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic.

The order seeks to reduce the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccines to 11, while also directing the Department of Justice to investigate whether states are violating exemptions to childhood vaccine mandates.

Speaking during a briefing after signing the order, Trump defended the changes, saying they would bring the US vaccine schedule in line with other countries.

“This updated recommendation finally aligns the United States with other advanced and developed nations around the world,” Trump said. “More importantly, it aligns us with common sense and knowledge.”

Trump also repeatedly linked childhood vaccines to autism, despite decades of scientific evidence finding no causal connection between vaccines and autism.

The president specifically called for the MMR vaccine to be administered as three separate shots rather than as a combined vaccine.

“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,” he said.

The proposed change has raised concerns among health experts, who warn that requiring additional medical appointments could increase the likelihood that children miss doses or fail to complete their recommended vaccinations.

Trump acknowledged that administering the vaccines separately could be inconvenient for families but argued that the approach would be beneficial.

“It’s inconvenient, it’s five stops, but it’s something that I think will have a huge impact on autism,” he said.

There is no scientific evidence that combining vaccines increases the risk of autism.

The executive order also directs the Justice Department to examine whether states are improperly limiting exemptions from childhood vaccine requirements, including exemptions based on parental authority, disabilities, religious beliefs and medical reasons.

The Trump administration has previously targeted the MMR and MMRV vaccines. In 2025, a key vaccine advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weakened recommendations for the MMRV vaccine for children under four.

Trump was also asked about concerns that requiring multiple doctor visits could increase healthcare costs for families through additional co-payments.

“We’re going to work with the families,” he said, without providing details on how the costs would be addressed.

The executive order comes as the US experiences its worst measles outbreak in decades, amid a decline in childhood vaccination rates since the COVID-19 pandemic.