Trump signs vaccine order amid false claims on safety, autism
President Trump signed an executive order urging states to revise childhood vaccine schedules, repeating false claims about vaccine safety and autism.
President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order aimed at pushing states to revise their childhood vaccine recommendations, a move accompanied by several inaccurate statements from the administration about vaccine safety and autism.
The order recommends separating the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate single-disease shots and administering childhood vaccines at separate appointments whenever possible.
Public health experts have expressed concern, noting that spacing out shots could leave children vulnerable to preventable diseases between visits. They emphasize that childhood vaccines have been rigorously studied worldwide for decades and remain safe and effective.
During the signing, Trump claimed children were receiving "72 jabs," a figure experts call misleading. The federal schedule in 2025 recommended protection against 18 diseases, which translated to roughly three dozen injections by age 18, excluding annual flu and COVID-19 shots. The administration's revised January schedule reduced that to about 23 injections for recommended-for-all vaccinations.
Trump also suggested the MMR vaccine could be "quite lethal" when combined, a claim doctors reject. The combination vaccine is proven safe, with mild side effects like soreness or fever. Separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines are not available in the U.S.
His description of "vats of vaccine" being injected into children is also false. Pediatricians note each vaccine dose is typically 0.1 to 0.3 milliliters, far less than a teaspoon, and nowhere near the size of a soda bottle.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited rising autism diagnosis rates, implying a vaccine link. Experts attribute the increase to better screening and broader diagnostic criteria. Multiple studies, including those by the CDC, have found no connection between vaccines and autism.
Measles, declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, is resurging as vaccination rates decline. This year's cases have already surpassed last year's record total, the worst in over three decades.