Trump Signs Executive Order Spacing Out Childhood Vaccines, Splitting MMR Into Three Shots

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held but discredited theory that childhood shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits.

“President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations”

AP News

The order advocates separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different single-disease shots and administering all childhood immunizations at separate appointments whenever possible.

ABC

It also directs the nation’s health department to improve research on vaccines and present a plan to offer separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines for children, since that is not currently an option in the United States.

Trump repeatedly suggested the number or timing of vaccines could play a role in rising rates of autism spectrum disorder, even as scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is no link.

The order also includes several changes to the childhood vaccine schedule that his health department has already attempted, but that have been blocked by a federal judge.

During his remarks at the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said, "Today, we're proud to officially announce the United States of America's Gold Standard Childhood Vaccination Recommendations and that has to do with many subjects, but including autism in particular," while the order itself recommended changes to vaccine timing and sequencing.

CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Celine Gounder said the MMR split is not even possible today, warning, "Merck stopped making the standalone measles, mumps and rubella vaccines in 2009."

AP News

Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the announcement spreads uncertainty, fear and confusion where "there doesn't need to be any of that," and he disputed the administration’s recommendations.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Republican chair of the Senate health committee, slammed the executive order in a social media post, writing, "I’m a doctor. This executive order is wrong," and adding, "The President does not have the expertise to make these changes."

The executive order directs the Health and Human Services Department to reassess vaccine sequencing and timing within 90 days, and it advises states with school vaccine mandates to consider updating their laws to reflect the administration’s preferred schedule.

“directed the Health and Human Services Department to reassess vaccine sequencing and timing within 90 days”

CBS News

Even as the order calls for revised vaccine recommendations, states—rather than the federal government—have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren, according to the AP and CBS descriptions of the policy split.

The order also directs the nation’s health department to improve vaccine research and present a plan for separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines, while CBS reported that the order only takes effect once those products exist.

Public health experts raised concerns that spacing out shots as Trump suggests can lead to an increased risk that children become infected with a vaccine-preventable disease before returning for another visit.

The stakes for vaccine policy also hinge on who can approve changes, since changes to federal childhood vaccine recommendations customarily require approval from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and public health law expert Lawrence Gostin said the Supreme Court’s interpretation may allow Trump to supersede Dr. Erica Schwartz if she does not agree.