Trump order slashes childhood vaccine schedule, urges MMR split

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that narrows the federally supported childhood immunization schedule to 11 vaccines, a move he says will provide American children with "gold-standard" protection and align the U.S. with other nations that recommend fewer shots.

The order advances a long-standing priority of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has previously promoted a scientifically debunked link between vaccines and autism. Kennedy had earlier attempted to remove shots for six of 17 diseases from the schedule, but that effort was halted by a federal court ruling. The new order reaffirms the overhaul despite the ongoing litigation.

The directive also recommends splitting the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate shots administered at different medical visits.

Public health experts have rejected the changes, arguing that the existing schedule is based on decades of evidence and that reducing recommended shots will leave more children vulnerable to preventable diseases. The American Academy of Pediatrics, which has already sued over Kennedy's earlier changes, said it is evaluating its next steps. Vaccine maker Merck stated there is no published scientific evidence showing any benefit to splitting the MMR shot, adding that using individual components increases the number of injections and could lead to delayed or missed immunizations.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who chairs the Senate health committee, condemned the order. "I'm a doctor. This executive order is wrong. The president does not have the expertise to make these changes," he said, noting that breaking up vaccines would mean children receive more shots, not fewer.

Administration officials have claimed the order reduces the number of injections children receive from 72 under the previous schedule. Vaccine experts say that figure is inflated, as it counts combination shots like MMR as multiple injections and assumes annual flu and COVID-19 doses.

Dr. Elizabeth Mack, a pediatric critical care physician in Charleston, South Carolina, said breaking up the shots would increase the number of injections children receive. She also noted that no licensed single-antigen measles, mumps, or rubella vaccines are available in the United States, making the recommendation unfeasible as written. "We don't have a system that supports this," she said, questioning how parents would manage additional visits and whether those visits would be reimbursed.