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Oz rejects “lethal” claim
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is “not a lethal vaccine,” contradicting President Donald Trump’s remarks.
““No, the MMR vaccine is not a lethal vaccine,””
Trump’s executive order signing ceremony in the Oval Office included Trump saying, “Together there could be a possibility they are quite lethal,” referring to the MMR vaccine.
Oz said the MMR vaccine is offered in other countries, and he pushed back on the administration’s messaging while addressing Trump’s push to split the combined shot.
The dispute came as the CDC figures highlighted on “Face the Nation” showed 92.4% of the nation’s kindergarteners were vaccinated against measles during the 2025-2026 school year, falling below the 95% herd immunity threshold.
Trump’s order and timing
Trump’s executive order recommended that physicians split the combined MMR shot, which has been available since 1971, and it also recommended that all children receive just 11 core vaccinations.
In the same Oval Office remarks, Trump said, “And separately it looks like they are not at all lethal but just very effective,” while arguing for separate components.
Oz told Margaret Brennan that the president wants parents to have “the autonomy to decide what their kids receive,” but Brennan pressed for a clear answer on whether the MMR vaccine is lethal.
The CBS News account also said the vaccines are not currently on the market in the U.S. as separate shots, and it described Oz’s comments about states not clarifying what parents can ask.
Science, politics, and risk
Forbes reported that after host Margaret Brennan asked Dr. Oz to clarify Trump’s claim on three separate occasions, Oz finally stated, “the MMR vaccine is not a lethal vaccine”.
““the MMR vaccine is not a lethal vaccine””
Forbes also said two shots of the vaccine offer 97% protection against measles, while noting minimal side effects including injection site pain, fever and stiffness in joints.
In a separate critique tied to the same “Face the Nation” exchange, Joshua Sharfstein of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said, “Not a single reputable scientific organization supports separating the MMR vaccine,” and warned the executive order would be “very scary and confusing language for parents.”
The stakes were framed around measles coverage and outbreak pressure, with the CBS News account tying the dispute to CDC figures that put vaccination at 92.4% for the 2025-2026 school year and below the 95% herd immunity threshold.